KFC Australia is forced to remove a popular menu item in two states

KFC is no longer selling chicken nuggets at some of its restaurants in Victoria and South Australia, citing unspecified supply chain issues.

The fast-food giant insisted this supply chain ‘disruption’ has nothing to do with the bird flu outbreak sweeping chicken farms in the state of Victoria.

With nuggets off the menu, diners will instead be offered Popcorn Chicken as an alternative.  

‘There’s been a very small disruption within our supply chain which means some KFC restaurants in Victoria and South Australia won’t be serving nuggets and will be offering Popcorn Chicken as a replacement in our shared meals,’ a spokesperson said.

‘We can confirm this supply issue is not related to the bird flu outbreak.

‘We’re working with our suppliers to get things back on track to restock affected areas ASAP.’

Six Victorian poultry farms have detected cases of avian influenza, sparking fears of egg shortages and mass bird cullings.

The spread of the virus globally has fuelled online conspiracy theories and misinformation about the risks to food supplies and Covid-style lockdowns.

Dozens of outlandish claims are being circulated on Facebook, TikTok and X about bird flu being deliberately injected into animals to destroy food supplies.

Other social media users predict the World Health Organization will somehow use the outbreak as a pretext to declare martial law or cancel national elections.

Scientists and industry experts have rubbished those claims, saying the risk to human health in Australia remains low and egg shortages are unlikely.

They say the more dangerous strain of bird flu (H5N1) spreading in North America and Europe is not the same as the two (H7N3 and H7N9) detected in Victoria.

Australian Chicken Growers Council chief executive Dr Joanna Sillince says the response to the local outbreak has been ‘textbook’, with governments and industry working ‘in perfect harmony’.

Dr Sillince also hosed down claims about potential food shortages.

‘There is no egg shortage in Victoria,’ she said. ‘Poultry meat and eggs are perfectly safe to eat.’