COSTCO members are “terrified” after spotting empty shelves as shoppers can’t get their hands on a key breakfast item again.
The food retail giant has bare shelves at one massive LA store with the same product also having shortages just months ago.
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Eggs have run out at the LA region warehouse, a post on Reddit has revealed.
That’s left shoppers worried about how they’ll be able to get their breakfast fix.
The poster said: “I know there was a salmonella outbreak in August but would that really impact the distribution chain this badly?
“This store usually has 10-12 pallets stocked everyday and have been sparsely receiving pallets lately.”
Commenters on the post pinned Costco’s shortage of eggs on one cause – a bird flue outbreak.
One said: “Bird flu: as I understand it, they have to terminate the entire flock and it can be a few months until the next flock reaches maturity.”
Another replied saying: “That sounds and feels terrifying.”
While a third posted: “They’re not in the stores because the chickens are suffering from a massive bird flu outbreak, and entire flocks are being destroyed to try to stop the spread. So far, not entirely effective.”
A man in Louisiana has now been hospitalised with bird flu.
This is the first “severe” case of bird flu reported in the US where the virus has spread rapidly through cows this year.
At least 61 human cases in the US have been recorded so far, mostly from people who worked with cows.
ONE MUTATION AWAY FROM PANDEMIC
Experts fear the bug, which has infected at least 904 people and killed 465 across the world since 2003, could mutate to spread from human to human, triggering another pandemic.
Recently, scientists discovered H5N1 is just one mutation away from developing the ability to transmit person-person.
Meanwhile, genetic analysis of the virus that infected the Canadian teenager revealed mutations that make it easier to infect humans.
In a bid to bolster the country’s defences, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has secured H5 jabs to be rolled out in the event of any such outbreak.
Last month, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed cases of H5 bird flu at a poultry farm in Yorkshire, England.
The department said all poultry would be humanely killed and a protection zone set up to cover 3km around the site.
However, it has not yet been detected in humans in the UK.
The British government recently announced that it had procured five million doses of an H5 vaccine, in case the virus does indeed start to spread between humans.
Costco membership sharing guidelines
Costco has strict rules for membership use that shoppers must follow and they’ve been cracking down on offenders in recent years.
- Primary Member Use: Only the primary cardholder can use this Costco membership card. Sharing it for purchases is not allowed as the photo on the card must match the person using it.
- Household Card: Each primary member can add one free household cardholder who lives at the same address. This person will receive their own membership card and can shop at Costco independently.
- Guest Policy: Members can bring up to two guests per visit to Costco. However, only the member can make purchases. Guests must be accompanied by the member.
- Authorized Cardholder: For an additional fee, you can add an authorized cardholder, such as a family member or friend, who doesn’t reside at your address. They will receive their own card and can shop independently.
Credit: Costco
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