McDonald’s in Australia has reduced its breakfast hours by 90 minutes due to a severe egg shortage caused by bird flu outbreaks across several states. The outbreaks have led to the euthanization of over one million birds, impacting egg supplies nationwide. McDonald’s announced on social media that breakfast will now end at 10:30 a.m. instead of noon to manage the limited egg availability. This decision reflects broader challenges in the egg industry affecting retailers and consumers alike, with warnings from the government about potential disruptions and limits on egg purchases in supermarkets.

McDonald’s Australia has reduced breakfast time in Australia by 90 minutes due to an egg scarcity caused by an outbreak of avian flu.

The decision comes after the highly dangerous H7 influenza virus-infected eight farms in Victoria, two in New South Wales, and one in the Australian Capital Territory.

Monica O’Shea from The Epoch Times reported that more than a million birds in both states have been euthanized as part of the government’s reaction to bird flu, often known as avian influenza.

McDonald’s announced on social media that breakfast would end at 10.30 a.m. instead of midday owing to egg supply concerns.

“Like many retailers we are carefully managing supply of eggs due to the current industry challenges,” McDonald’s Australia posted to Instagram.

“To keep bringing you your breakie favourites with fresh Aussie eggs, we’ll be temporarily serving breakfast until 10.30 a.m. across Australia (usually available until midday).”

McDonald’s says it is working hard with Australian farmers and suppliers to get back to normal “as soon as possible.”

Disruptions to the egg supply

The federal government recently issued a warning that egg supplies in Australia have been disrupted and that customers should not buy more eggs than needed.

“The national layer hen flock has been impacted by these outbreaks which is resulting in some localised disruption to egg supplies to the retail, hospitality and manufacturing sectors,” the government said.

They warned that buyers might expect to see some bare shelves in the immediate term, although supply was being diverted.

“Some retailers have already imposed purchasing limits which may extend across retail chains and jurisdictions, including rural and regional areas,” the government’s statement stated.

Coles, the supermarket giant, placed egg purchasing limits on Australian consumers in June.

Where Has Bird Flu Been Found?

The H7N3 virus was found at seven poultry farms in Victoria’s Golden Plains Shire, near Meredith. A case of the H7N9 strain of avian flu has also been identified.

Meanwhile, two outbreaks of H7N8 poultry have been discovered in the Hawkesbury district of northwest Sydney. This is a distinct strain from Victoria.

On June 27, H7N8 avian flu was identified at a poultry farm in Australia’s Capital Territory (ACT). This farm is tied to one of the New South Wales properties.

The first human case of bird flu in Australia was reported in Victoria in May, in a toddler who contracted the H5N1 strain in India.

The latest avian influenza strains in Australia do not appear to “transmit easily between humans,” according to the Australian government.

The ministry also reminded Australians that eggs and chicken meat are still safe to consume if cooked correctly.

“They do not pose a risk and are safe to consume. Victoria has a secure supply chain including the importation of eggs from interstate, so the current outbreak has not significantly affected supplies,” said Agriculture Victoria.

Bird flu is caused by a “variety of influenza type A viruses” that typically infect birds, according to Cassandra Berry, a Murdoch University Professor of Viral Immunology.

“The difference lies in the number of basic amino acids at the cleave site of haemagglutinin (HA), a spike protein on the virus surface, which is cleaved by cellular proteases,” she said.

“This cleavage determination then allows the virus to infect cells of different tissues and organs in the body. So if the virus HA is more easily cleaved by proteases, it will be more pathogenic.”

Over 1.2 million birds were slaughtered.

Following the discovery of bird flu in NSW, the government stated that 240,000 birds would be slaughtered in June.

Following the detection of bird flu at the poultry egg farm, the state implemented an “emergency biosecurity incident plan” to contain the infection.

“We started depopulating the farm, in a humane manner, following Australian Veterinary guidelines. “This process will take up to 5-7 days to depopulate 240,000 birds,” Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said on June 20.

Later that month, it was announced that a further 87,000 birds would be killed in New South Wales as part of a “depopulation process” following the discovery of the state’s second case.

Birds have also been killed in the Australian Capital Territory, albeit the exact quantity is unknown at this time.

In June, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt stated that more than one million birds had to be euthanized in south-western Victoria.

Recently, GreatGameInternational reported that Zachary Stieber from the Epoch Times stated Finland plans to initiate avian influenza vaccinations for humans, starting as early as the week of June 30, making it the first country worldwide to do so. The initiative targets workers with animal exposure due to their occupation.