If you thought the sriracha shortage was over think again. USA Today reports that Huy Fong Foods maker of the iconic sriracha with the rooster logo will halt production until after Labor Day. The company informed wholesale buyers of its decision in a letter last week stating that there will be no new shipments of the beloved hot sauce for at least four months. This is at least the third time Huy Fong has halted sriracha production since 2020. Last year’s shortage sparked a trend of sriracha bidding on eBay sending bottle prices to outrageous heights. Could more of the same be in store?
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 9NEWS | 2024-05-10 23:43:55 |  480 Views |
Sriracha shortage may still be coming
Experts have blamed the work stoppage on a severe drought in Mexico that has devastated agriculture and threatened municipal water supplies. The drought is worst in northern Mexico where most of the jalapeño peppers used to make Huy Fong's sriracha sauce are grown. Sriracha is made with red jalapeños which are the same as green jalapeños except that they are fully ripened on the vine before being picked. The drought has prevented the peppers from reaching this ripe red stage.
Red jalapeños have a more complex flavor profile than their more common green counterparts. They are generally sweeter and spicier than green jalapeños. Without a crop of red jalapeños sriracha just isn't sriracha.
Huy Fong Foods didn’t always source its peppers from Mexico either. For nearly three decades Huy Fong Foods used red jalapeños grown by Underwood Ranches in Southern California. In late 2016 the two companies became embroiled in a dispute over the price of the following year’s crop. After a series of back-and-forth lawsuits they severed ties for good and Underwood Ranches launched a competing sriracha brand using its own peppers.
