I’m not a huge spicy foods girl, but for my friends and family that are, sriracha is a staple in their pantries. The condiment is so versatile and can be added to everything from avocado toast and eggs to burgers and fries — anything you want to spice up a little bit. But if you’re heading to your local grocery store any time soon looking for your favorite sriracha, you might be disappointed to find that it could be missing from the shelves.
So there’s another sriracha shortage?
According to USA Today, Huy Fong Foods is warning customers that their iconic green-topped sriracha is in short supply. The company, based in Southern California, is talking about an “unprecedented inventory shortage,” and they’re really not sure when we’ll be out on the other side of it.
The shortage stems from a drought in Mexico last year that led to a decline in the supply of red jalapeño peppers used to make the sauce. Although Huy Fong Foods was able to restart production in the fall and partially restock shelves, the company is again saying that “we continue to have a limited supply that continues to affect our production. At this time, we have no estimations of when supply will increase.”
Didn’t we already have a sriracha shortage?
This is the most recent shortage being reported by Huy Fong Foods, but it’s not the first. Last June, they linked another product shortage to crop issues, and in April 2022, the company released a letter alerting customers about a chili pepper shortage. This shortage impacted their ability to produce the majority of their products, which include Chili Garlic, Sambal Oelek, and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce.
It’s safe to say that social media users are not happy with the shortage, and I’m sure my spice-loving friends would agree as well. One Twitter user wrote, “I didn’t think the Sriracha shortage would affect me as bad as it has.”
Others are still confused about where their favorite condiment has gone, saying “Why is no one talking about the sriracha shortage?? It’s been weeks that I haven’t seen it in the shelf.” For now, all sriracha lovers can do is cross their fingers that they’ll see that recognizable green top back on grocery store shelves sometime soon.