Which British chains are impacted by food shortages? Business News

Brexit and other factors have led to food and worker shortages in recent weeks, with supermarkets now warning of a potential disruption to Christmas supplies.

Britain’s exit from the EU has contributed to a massive drop in the number of truck drivers available to transport goods, as have wages hikes in their home countries, according to the Tesco boss.

Reports suggest that coronavirus self-isolation requirements have also been a factor, while McDonalds and others have been hit by a shortage of manufacturing workers.

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Here we take a look at which channels have been affected and what they have to say about the crisis.

Gregg

The national pastry chain has reportedly suffered from a poultry shortage affecting its popular chicken dishes and other items. However, this particular favorite is still on the menu.

“There are currently no supply issues with our baked chickens and our customers can continue to enjoy them as they usually would,” a spokesperson said.

“Unfortunately, like others, we are seeing temporary supply disruptions for certain ingredients, which sometimes means stores are not able to maintain full availability on all lines. However, we have a wide range of choices on our menu for customers happy to purchase an alternative.

Costa

A number of menu items in the coffee chain have been hit by supply shortages, according to its Twitter account. These have included paninis and decaffeinated coffee beans.

Mcdonalds

The American fast food franchise, which has some 1,250 stores in the UK, ran out of milkshake ingredients and bottled drinks this week.

A spokesperson said the shortages, however, only affected England, Scotland and Wales – notably, not Northern Ireland.

“We apologize for any inconvenience and thank our customers for their continued patience. We are working hard to get these items back on the menu as soon as possible,” they added.

Nando and KFC

Nando’s blamed its widely publicized difficulties in sourcing chicken for its peri-perished restaurants on the “ping-demi” of the coronavirus. He did not publicly acknowledge the impact of Brexit, but admitted that the shortages did not affect restaurants in Northern Ireland or the Republic.

One of Britain’s largest poultry producers, Avaro Foods, has dismissed claims the crisis was caused by the coronavirus isolation rules.

“Our concern is to recruit and fill vacancies when the UK workforce has been severely depleted as a result of Brexit,” a spokesperson said, adding: “This creates stress on the chains British supply. “

Nick Allen, Managing Director of the British Meat Processors Association, said The independent: “The supply issues stem from the underlying labor issues that have arisen since Brexit… It’s certainly Brexit related, but it’s also the immigration decisions our politicians are making since Brexit.

Cooperative operation

Food shortages have reached historic levels, suggested the head of the cooperative group.

Steve Murrells, general manager of the retailer, said he has significantly reduced its line of certain products to help serve customers.

He said The temperature: “The shortages are at a worse level than at any time that I have seen.”

He blamed Brexit and Covid-19, and said the company was retraining its staff to work as truck drivers.

Iceland

The Icelandic boss made headlines this week suggesting that food shortages caused by Brexit could affect Christmas.

Richard Walker Radio 4 Today program: “The reason we’re sounding the alarm bells now is that we already had a Christmas canceled at the last minute and I would hate that to be problematic as well. “

The supermarket giant suffers from daily food and drink shortages due to a chronic shortage of truck drivers, he added.

Iceland is currently short of 100 full-time drivers and Mr Walker warned that this “has an impact on the food supply chain on a daily basis”.