Rita's

Rita's Italian Ice is temporarily phasing out custard due to the national egg shortage.

(Sue Gleiter, PennLive.com)

Rita's Italian Ice is in the process of temporarily phasing out frozen custard due to the national egg shortage stemming from the country's worst avian flu outbreak.

Customers at more than 600 of the chain's stands, including those in central Pennsylvania, will find soft-serve ice cream in exchange for custard.

The egg shortage is the result of the avian flu epidemic that has devastated flocks of egg-laying chickens, mostly in the Midwest. It has also led to higher egg prices. Since December 2014, more than 48 million birds, mostly chickens and turkeys, have been impacted.

Across the country, restaurants are taking a hit from the egg shortages and higher prices. Some restaurants have increased prices on breakfasts. Texas-based Whataburger revised breakfast hours to compensate for the shortage.

Rita's spokeswoman Ariel Vegotsky said never before in the history of Rita's has the chain been impacted by a national food shortage.

"We are not able to get our egg supplies anymore to supply our 600 stores," she said.

She said some stands have already transitioned to serving soft-serve while other stands are in the process of phasing out existing supplies of the custard. Eventually, all of the more than 600 Rita's stands will serve soft-serve, she said.

It's not known how long Rita's will serve soft-serve but Vegotsky said Rita's intends to bring back the custard. Luckily, customers have been understanding about not being able to order the custard.

"So far, the reaction from guests has been positive. Everyone is happy with the product we are serving," she said, adding it tastes similar to the custard.

This story has been updated to include more information about the avian flu.