Supplies of crisps including Wotsits, Quavers and ready-salted Walkers are set to be disrupted for several more weeks following an IT glitch, raising the prospect of the festive favourites being in short supply this Christmas.
The Leicester-based manufacturer claimed that products were affected by the glitch. It also said it was increasing production for its most popular crisp flavours, including cheese, onion and salt and vinegar.
Many products are not available on the Tesco website, and some supermarket shelves have been empty. This is part of a larger crisis in the food supply chain due to a chronic shortage of workers and HGV drivers. Congestion at global trade ports
MailOnline was told by a spokesperson for Walkers that a recent IT system upgrade had disrupted some of their products. However, our sites continue to produce snacks and crisps on a smaller scale.
“We are doing everything we can increase production and get people’s favorite products back on shelves. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused.
The global supply chain crisis has caused chaos in the UK and hampered its economic recovery. There have been shortages on UK supermarket shelves, delayed deliveries, and higher prices.
Walkers crisps may be out of stock for several more weeks after a recent IT upgrade. This could lead to the festive favourite being in short supply at Christmas.
Several supermarkets have seen empty shelves, as part of a larger crisis throughout the food supply chain.
Currently, a number of Walkers products cannot be found on the Tesco website.
Walkers multipacks are not available on Tesco’s website.
MailOnline also found Wotsits, (pictured), and Quavers not available on Tesco’s site.
Is there a solution to our holiday feast worries? After warnings about a possible turkey shortage this season, Heinz launches Christmas dinner inside a TIN
Heinz claims that if the soup proves to be a success, they will continue to make the festive meal fast for Christmas in 2022
Fear not, Heinz has a backup plan if you are worried about a turkey shortage at Christmas.
It has created a Christmas dinner soup that includes ‘big chunks’ (or turkey) and sprouts and stuffing.
The £1.50 Big Soup Christmas Dinner also has roasties, pigs in blankets and a gravy and cranberry sauce.
You’ll need to get it if you want to feed your family. This year, there will only be 500 cans.
If the success of Heinz is continued, Heinz could make more money next year.
Heinz isn’t alone in trying to can Christmas. GAME, a retailer for gamers, launched a “Christmas Tinner” in 2013 for those too attached to their consoles.
It is partly due to the fact that supply cannot keep up with rapidly growing demand as the UK economy reopens. There are many contributing factors, including staff shortages, Brexit and Covid, as well as wider economic conditions.
There are currently around half a billion job vacancies in the UK food supply chains, which represents 12.5% of the total workforce.
The crisis has also impacted the haulage industry, with the government promising to recruit thousands of lorry drivers over the Christmas period.
An earlier shortage of drivers delayed fuel deliveries, leading to panic-buying and a fuel crisis lasting weeks.
Shepherd Neame’s chief executive Jonathan Neame warned that there will be ‘terrific supply chains squeezes’ in the food and drinks industry over the next six to 9 months.
Industry leaders insist that a combination of strict immigration controls and Brexit, as well as coronavirus, where many foreign workers choose to return home, has caused the crisis.
Experts believe the shortage of HGV drivers is due to a combination factors, including EU workers returning home from Brexit and lockdown restrictions that caused the cancellation of 40,000 HGV testing. They also pointed out low wages and the closing a tax loophole for certain drivers.
McDonald’s just removed the Chicken Legend Burger from its menu last week due to ongoing supply chain issues.
Customers online called the fast food giant a “psycho” and “out of order”, while another vows to riot after being unable order the fried Chicken Burger. This burger is usually served in a ciabatta bread with lettuce and mayonnaise.
McDonald’s initially stated that supply chain woes were ‘impacting availability’ of the Chicken Legend, and that it was working hard for the item to be returned as soon as possible. It later stated that the item should still be available at restaurants, but not for delivery orders.
Wetherspoon bosses were forced to apologise after revealing that venues across the country had run out of salt, blaming ‘supplier disruption’, with new food providers being sought to alleviate the pressure on existing stock shortages.
Also last week, MPs were warned that UK supermarkets will be short of home-produced fresh turkeys this Christmas with stores turning to imports from France and Poland.
The crisis has also impacted the haulage industry, with the government promising to recruit thousands of lorry drivers for Christmas (stock image).
McDonald’s has been criticized by angry fast food lovers after it removed Chicken Legends (pictured), from its menu due’supply chain’ issues
Pub-goers across the UK were outraged by the shortage of sachets at JD Wetherspoon pubs during the latest supply chain crisis at the popular chain. Pictured: Wetherspoon venue in Littlehampton West Sussex
Industry leaders claim it is evidence that there is a larger crisis in the food supply chain. UK farmers decided to reduce the number of chicks they raise this year, as they realized that there would not be enough workers to process them.
Graeme Dear, chairman of British Poultry Council, stated that there is a ‘likelihood” there will be a shortage in UK turkeys for Christmas.
This year, around 20% fewer birds were raised on British farms.
The Government recently announced that it would allow 5,500 poultry plant workers to enter the country on short-term visas. However, this announcement was too late for turkey production.
Mr Dear stated: “The irony is that we may find ourselves having turkey imported from France or Poland for a British Christmas. This will probably be with some of our workers who were trained and then left to return to their homelands.”
Tom Bradshaw, National Farmers’ Union, stated that the union has been involved with constant battles against the Home Office over the need for more foreign workers.
A scheme for seasonal workers allows for around 30,000 foreign workers to work in the UK harvest. However, NFU believes this should be increased to between 50,000 and 60,000.
Mr Bradshaw said: ‘The food waste we are seeing at a farm level… is completely inexcusable.’
It is a closely monitored report found that UK manufacturers raised their prices by the largest amount in at least two decades after a ‘severe’ increase in raw materials and energy costs, as Increasing supply chain disruptions, staff shortages, and declining export work all hampered output growth.
According to the IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers survey, Despite the fact that the PMI was higher due to increased growth in new orders, employment, and steeper increases in stocks of purchase and longer lead times for vendors, further slowdowns in output growth hampered growth.
The index rose for the first five months at 57.8, up from 57.1 in Sept. Manufacturing production grew only marginally in October, at the slowest pace in eight months.