Coles shoppers have been left divided over who is to blame after a customer complained about broken eggs left on the shelves for half-an-hour.
A concerned shopper spotted the filthy state of the shelves at the Coles in Melbourne on Sunday and claimed she watched staff ignore it for 30 minutes.
She shared the photo of the shabby shelves to Facebook with the image sparking a fierce debate over who was at fault.
Some slammed the staff and claimed they had witnessed similar scenes in other stores, while others blasted the customers for making the mess in the first place.
‘There was a broken egg somewhere on shelf, smell was horrible, not one person cleaned it up,’ one claimed.
‘I stopped buying eggs there, couldn’t stand the stink in the aisle.’
A second said: ‘I have seen the same in our Coles store too in the middle of the week, (I) no longer shop there… No pride no respect these days’
A former supermarket manager chimed in, saying the state of the shelf was ‘unacceptable’.
An image of broken eggs left on a shelf at a Coles in Melbourne (pictured) has sparked fury from Aussie shoppers as staff reportedly ignored the issue for about half an hour
‘Fill the empty space with a product that will make an extra (revenue) ate the register,’ they wrote.
‘Customers pay wages with their purchases, plus the sale on eggs could have compensated the 10 minutes of cleaning required.’
Other users took aim at the shopper for claiming to have stood by and judge staff instead of alerting them.
‘You have time to stare at eggs for 30mins but not notify any staff,’ a user wrote.
‘They have things to do and looking at eggs I bet isn’t on their mind.’
Another said they shouldn’t complain about staff but the ‘customers who make this mess’.
A Coles spokesman told Daily Mail Australia that the supermarket ‘takes food safety extremely seriously and our teams work hard and pride themselves on keeping a clean and hygienic environment in all our stores’.
‘Our shelves are thoroughly cleaned regularly, and in relation to the photo you have provided, this appears to be an isolated situation.’
It comes as Coles and Woolworths are forced to ration egg purchases as the supply chain is restricted by outbreaks of avian flu (stock image)
The incident comes as the bird flu outbreak continues to spread, with 11 farms across NSW, the ACT and Victoria impacted, resulting in more than one million chickens being killed.
The shutdown of farms has disrupted the supply chain to the point where Coles and Woolworths have been forced to restrict the amount of eggs customers can buy.
McDonald’s is also feeling the pinch, announcing this week its egg-heavy breakfast menu would be stopped at 10.30am instead of midday to limit use.
Australian Eggs boss Rowan McMonnies said consumers who shop around will still be able to find eggs even if one store had temporarily run out.
‘If you want eggs, you will get them,’ Mr McMonnies said.