Egg shortages hit supermarkets as Sainsbury’s runs low, Lidl rations boxes and Wetherspoons forced to change menu
SUPERMARKETS have warned shoppers of egg shortages with some stores rationing how many they can buy.
Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Lidl have put up notices in some of their shops warning of supply issues.
Customers can buy a maximum of three egg boxes in one Lidl branch and shelves were almost empty in a Sainsbury’s shop.
And there are fears more stores will also have to ration eggs amid a shortage.
Meanwhile, some Wetherspoon pubs are serving full-english breakfasts without eggs, offering hash browns, sausages or onion rings as a replacement.
A Wetherspoons spokesman told The Sun: “We can confirm that there are temporary issues with egg supplies at some Wetherspoon pubs, due to the current impact of Avian flu on egg production.
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“We are experiencing issues in receiving all the supplies we require to satisfy demand in every pub.
“This is not specific to Wetherspoon and other hospitality operators and supermarkets are facing similar issues."
It comes amid a shortage of eggs partly caused by another outbreak of avian flu, but also because of a delayed knock-on impact from millions of birds dying during the summer’s heatwave.
In August the Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs had said that it was "deeply concerned" about the scale of chicken mortalities in industrial chicken sheds as birds died from heat exhaustion when temperatures reached record highs.
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It is understood that a lot of the birds that died were broiler chickens - those reared for consumption rather than laying eggs.
This summer was the hottest on record with temperatures passing 40 degrees centigrade or 104 Fahrenheit.
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The problems have been exacerbated by a number of farmers exiting the industry, with fewer laying hens than ever before, because rising costs has meant that it is harder to make a profit.
Farmers have blamed a huge jump in animal feed costs, caused by the war in Ukraine which has sent grain prices soaring.
