KFC has halted the sale of chicken nuggets at many stores in Victoria and South Australia as the fast food giant experienced an unspecified supply chain issue.
Former KFC employees have launched legal action against the fast food giant over claims they were not given adequate breaks.
The class action lawsuit has been filed in the Federal Court.
The Retail and Fast Food Workers Union alleges KFC failed to give employees their paid 10-minute break when working longer than four hours.
According to the class action, workers were also entitled to a second paid break after eight hours of work.
The class action aims to recover compensation for employees who were not paid for their breaks starting from October 2017 onwards.
The fast-food outlet told SkyNews.com.au the move to remove chicken nuggets from some of its restaurants was not due to the bird flu outbreak sweeping chicken farms in Victoria.
“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,” the 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.”
KFC removed chicken nuggets from some of its stores in Victoria and South Australia. Picture: Reddit
KFC said the nuggets were removed due to a supply chain issue. Picture: KFC
When pressed again on what the specific supply chain issue was, KFC refused to answer.
The disruption comes as the spread of bird flu will soon hit a sad milestone as Victorian authorities confirm more than one million chickens will be killed to curb the spread of the virus, according to the ABC.
Seven farms across Victoria have now confirmed the presence of bird flu within their poultry.
Agriculture Victoria said all poultry at the newly discovered property will be humanely disposed of then cleaned and cleared of infection.
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Victoria’s chief veterinary officer Graeme Cooke confirmed the unnamed farm was impacted and said it was working with farmers to limit the spread of bird flu.
“We’re continuing to work with affected producers and the poultry industry to respond to these detections through ongoing testing and careful biosecurity practices,” Dr Cooke said.
“Movement restrictions are expected to be in place for several weeks, and we’re working with industry to support poultry farmers with the logistical challenges they’re facing.”
The government authority of food safety, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FANZ), last week issued an alert to customers that properly cooked and handled chicken meat, eggs and egg products were safe to eat.
Seven farms across Victoria have now confirmed the presence of bird flu. Picture: Mike Dugdale
“There is no evidence to show the virus can be transmitted to people through properly prepared food,” FANZ said.
The spread of the bird flu across Victorian farms spurred Coles to introduce buying limits for eggs in its supermarkets.
Shoppers were only allowed to buy two cartons each at stores in all states except for Western Australia.
Coles introduced an egg buying limit after bird flu spread to farms in Victoria. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images
“We have introduced a temporary limit of two egg cartons per customer in our national stores, excluding in-store Western Australia,” a Coles spokesperson told SkyNews.com.au.
“We are working closely with all of our suppliers to ensure eggs remain available for our customers and we are providing support to the industry in responding to the Avian Flu cases in Victoria.”
Rival supermarkets Aldi and Woolworths do not appear to have implemented purchasing limits on eggs to date.