Image Source: Burgess Rawson
The fast-food chain KFC has announced that it will be replacing products containing lettuce with cabbage because of a shortage following recent floods in Australia.
In a website post, KFC Australia said, “We’re using a lettuce and cabbage blend on all products containing lettuce until further notice.” The post also explained that the floods in Queensland and New South Wales caused the destruction of the crops.
With the recent lettuce shortage, many of the company’s branches are affected, particularly in Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory, and Victory. Several of KFC’s bestsellers like the Zinger Burgers and Crunch Twister wraps will use cabbage now instead of lettuce.
To avoid the inclusion of cabbage, customers can simply ask their server not to add it in.
Food shortages have become a common problem among nations, with the catalysts being the pandemic and the ongoing strife between Russia and Ukraine.
After many countries banned exporting their agriculture and essential products, there was a subsequent shortage of global supply in key ingredients used by most companies like wheat, rice, sunflower seeds, gas, and oil.
To add, climate change adds to the threats to the world’s food supply. Over recent months, countries around the globe have experienced warmer temperatures which have led India, one of the biggest wheat exporting nations, to ban exports due to heat stress on crops.
There have been some shortages in the supply of KFC’s basic and important ingredients. Currently, the heavy rains have destroyed much of the lettuce produce from farms; this means they can’t serve some menus with lettuce. Earlier, the company also had to put up with a shortage of chicken.
In recent months, KFC Japan has also been met with a shortage due to shipment delays on potatoes which have caused the company to temporarily halt selling their famous fries.
KFC U.K. has grounded their milkshakes this summer because there’s been a shortage in supplies too.
However, KFC is not the only company seeing these issues. Other companies are also experiencing shortages because of the pandemic and stricter export policies. Businesses like Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A, and Nando’s were hit hard by the effects of war and the pandemic.
Source: CNN
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