Major fast food chains could be hit by a crisis due to an impending shortage of salad items – including lettuce and pickles. Experts warned that KFC, Burger King and McDonald’s could all be impacted
Fast food burgers could be left wilting due to a shortage of lettuces, tomatoes, onions and pickles.
Many chains including KFC, Burger King and McDonald’s import the fruit and veg for their toppings from Spain and Holland during the winter months.
But crop reports have revealed that production of various lettuce varieties have struggled in the past few weeks. Poor weather conditions have resulted in a low yield as well as rising prices.
In their report wholesales Heritage Fine Foods said: “After some improvement in recent weeks, production has dipped slightly again, leading to rising prices next week-particularly for the best quality.”
In 2023 a shortage of lettuces and rising prices led to KFC being forced to use cabbages instead of lettuce leaves.
And in more bad news for burger fans the report added beef tomatoes were “still far from abundant” whilst plum, widely used by Burger King on their whoppers, showed “no improvement in supply or quality yet”.
Onions were also in short supply, with crops in Holland, where McDonalds import the veg from, ravaged from floods. And cucumbers, used by many of the top chains to make pickles, are also struggling.
The report added: “As noted last week, while there has been a slight improvement in volume compared to previous weeks, overall production remains limited.
“Plants have already yielded heavily over the past month, and significant increases in supply are unlikely until spring crops begin next month.”
Elsewhere, nostalgic 90s snacks like Viennetta and Cheestrings have made a comeback – and are apparently more popular than ever before.
Supermarket bosses have seen a spike in sales over the past few months as nostalgic Brits re-visit the tastes of the 1990s. And it comes at a time where the final instalment of Bridget Jones hits the cinemas. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, was released on February 13.
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