American fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has been forced to start using cabbage instead of lettuce in its burgers and wraps in Australia due to a shortage of the vegetable in the country.
Australia has seen sporadic floods that have destroyed several domestic farms housing lettuce crops. This has led to the price of the leafy vegetable to skyrocket, increasing by three times the usual price sitting of over 10 Australian dollars (Rs 557).
On its website KFC Australia wrote, “We've hit a bit of an Iceberg and are currently experiencing some lettuce supply chain disruptions due to the impacts of the recent Queensland and NSW floods. This means you may see a temporary blend of lettuce and cabbage throughout KFC restaurants in NSW, VIC, QLD, ACT and TAS during these shortages. If that's not your bag, simply click ‘Customise' on your chosen product and remove Lettuce from the recipe. We're working with our multiple suppliers to provide them with support, but we do expect disruptions to continue in the coming days. Apologies for any inconvenience caused, we appreciate you all being Little Gems as we work to get things back to normal ASAP.”
Food producers from all around the world are struggling with food shortages of differing kinds due to supply chains being hit or delayed. Both the Coronavirus pandemic as well as Russia's war with Ukraine have contributed to this. Earlier this year, KFC restaurants in Australia were even struggling with securing its signature ingredient - chicken - due to the Omicron variant infecting a lot of poultry farmers and workers.
