Middle class distress SPREADS! After pan-demonium over Le Creuset sale, now Britain is operating out of taramasalata!
For several days, middle class shoppers have demanded answers over what they declared a ‘national taramasalata shortage’.
And it can now be revealed that they were not going crazy, for supermarkets truly have been quietly battling a nationwide dips crisis.
Shortages of the creamy Greek spread, made from cod roe, have been caused by strikes at a large supplier.
It’s the second Middle Class scandal to rock Britain in recent days – after a Le Creuset warehouse sale sparked a police response as shoppers queued for hours to get their hands on cut-price casserole dishes, baking trays and crockery in Hampshire.
Two industry sources have told the Financial Times that the supply of taramasalata has been disrupted by industrial action over pay at Bakkavor, one of the UK’s largest producers of dips, soups, salads and ready meals.
Shortages of taramasalata, made from cod roe, have been caused by strikes at a large supplier
Staff at Bakkavor in the east Midlands are seen on the picket lines in September as they continue to fight for a pay rise
Staff working at Bakkavor’s Spalding side in the Midlands launched strike action at six weeks ago, sparking chaos in the taramasalata supply chain.
‘There has been a short disruption to our supply of taramasalata, but drawing on the skills based across its 21 UK sites, production steps up again next week,’ a spokesman told the FT on Monday.
Retailers including Waitrose, Marks and Spencer and Tesco were out of stock of own-brand taramasalata on Monday evening.
And many shoppers have been raising the shortage on social media, with some customers saying they had noticed gaps on shelves for weeks.
One X user said: ‘My mum has been on about a taramasalata shortage for weeks, she’s started buying it from restaurants.’
Another wrote on November 4: ‘I know this is such a first world problem, but is there a national shortage of taramasalata? Had a right craving for it this weekend but couldn’t find it anywhere, not in Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsburys, Marks and Spencer. What’s going on?’
Two days later, another shopper posted: ‘Now the election is over can we please talk about the national taramasalata shortage.’
Bakkavor has said the strikes will not affect food supply in the long-term and that its Christmas ranges were manufactured at other sites.
The Unite trade union said 700 of the Spalding factory’s 1,400 workers are currently taking action, although Bakkavor said only 450 are not attending work.
Unite say that workers are demanding an 81pm an hour rise to their salaries, with most staff currently on £11.54 an hour.
Donna-Maria Lee, chief people officer at Bakkavor, last week disputed Unite’s claim that the company had carried out years of real term pay cuts.
She insisted that pay had been increased at ‘above inflation’ over the past three years at the Spalding site.
The taramasalata shortage comes after Middle Class shoppers were subjected to chaotic scenes at a Le Creuset sale in Andover, Hampshire, over the weekend.
The taramasalata shortage comes after Middle Class shoppers were subjected to chaotic scenes at a Le Creuset sale in Andover, Hampshire, over the weekend
Lines of buyers gathered at a warehouse in Andover in Hampshire over the weekend
Hampshire Police were put on alert as hundreds of shoppers descended in four-hour queues attempting to snap up pots and pans from the French-Belgian firm.
Officers had to patrol the hordes gathering at a Hampshire retail estate after cut-price Le Creuset products were put up for offer, with lines of buyers snaking back for several miles.
The deals were put in place from 9am on Saturday and 8am the following day – and one TikTok user shared a video revealing how they had spent £1,127 on an array of items which would otherwise have cost £2,741.50, a saving of £1,614.50.
