A sticky breakfast crisis: Eggos to be rationed
Filed under: Food
Frozen waffle fans of all ages may be left scrambling, wondering what to eat (eggs perhaps?) for breakfast. On Wednesday, Kellogg's said it's facing an unprecedented shortage of its frozen Eggo waffles -- a situation it expects to last through mid-2010.Oh, what will breakfast lovers do?
Flooding at an Atlanta plant forced Kellogg's to shut down a bakery. A move that impacted production of the frozen food favorite. Pouring hot maple syrup on the already sticky situation: equipment repairs to the company's biggest waffle bakery in Rossville, TN. which further impacted production.
But soggy weather isn't the only reason the Atlanta facility closed. The Eggo makers shut-down during much of September and October to sanitize the plant after inspectors found Listeria monocytogenes -- bacteria that can cause serious infection -- according to the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
"We are working around the clock to restore Eggo store inventories to normal levels as quickly as possible," spokesman Kris Charles said. The currently available Eggos will be rationed to stores nationwide "based on historical percentage of business," Charles said.
The "temporary supply disruption" contributed to a 3% decline in sales in Kellogg's North American frozen and specialty channels division in the third quarter, Kellogg CEO David Mackay said on a conference call in late October.
One can only imagine it won't be long before resourceful entrepreneurs start auctioning Eggo they're willing to "leggo" on eBay.
