Ginger Nut shortage hits
While taking a few days annual leave last week, I happened to be in the car listening to a radio phone in. As I’m always on the look out for an interesting blogging topic, my ears pricked up when a caller mentioned a lack of McVitie’s Ginger Nut biscuits in her local supermarket. It soon transpired that this was a problem that was affecting other Ginger Nut fans in various parts of the UK – a national disaster, no less.
In the meantime, the story has been picked up by various national news agencies, and it turns out that stocks of some of Britain’s best loved biscuits are running low due to the fact that the United Biscuits factory in Caldewgate was affected by the extreme flooding that hit the region late last year. Production was halted on 6 December!
A representative from UB told The Guardian that it has been “unable to find alternative facilities elsewhere in the country to pick up production” and it could take “several months” to restart the brick ovens used on the site. Surely somebody somewhere can help? Crawford’s Custard Creams are also made at the facility and several supermarkets have been running low on stock of these too.
Apparently this is the second time in a decade the Caldewgate factory has been hit by flooding and forced to halt production. After a previous closure in 2005, it reopened only thanks to a £1m government grant, which ensured the business returned to a town where it employs 600 people and is an important part of the local economy.
For biscuit fans, a lack of their favourites on the supermarket shelves is a particularly emotive issue. Let’s hope that UB production is back on track soon!
