Lovers of Middle Eastern cuisine are bracing themselves for a new kind of double dip recession as both Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer face a shortage of hummus.
Customers at branches of both supermarkets from York to Essex to Chiswick have complained of a lunchtime crisis after finding shelves empty of hummus and have published a barrage of pictures online. Some tweeted heartbreak emojis, while others used the hashtag #firstworldproblems.
The shortage came after a series of complaints that the dip had an unpleasant flavour, which one Twitter user described as metallic. “Please fix your hummus production issue. I’ve never been more heartbroken in my life than when I found the hummus aisle so empty,” another customer tweeted Sainsbury’s.
M&S and Sainsbury’s both withdrew some lines from sale after what Sainsbury’s described as taste issues, and Tesco customers also noticed the problem. One branch of Sainsbury’s decided to help ravenous hummus fans by sticking a recipe to one of the empty shelves, helpfully including where to find the necessary chickpeas, tahini and herbs.
In a statement, Sainsbury’s said that the problem was down to “a production issue at our supplier”. Own-brand hummus at all three supermarkets is supplied by the food-manufacturing company Bakkavor, which confirmed that it had contacted them to warn of an issue with its manufacturing process. It admitted that there was a strange taste, but said there was no food safety issue.
Sainsbury’s apologised to customers. “We expect to be fully stocked within a couple of days,” it said. A spokeswoman for M&S said it had removed lines but was fully stocked again.
One Twitter user asked M&S to “send help … my colleagues are complaining that your hummus recipe has changed. Only topic of conversation in the office”. M&S said in a statement: “We can reassure customers that our recipe hasn’t changed.”
Nor was Tesco immune. One tweet read: “Your hummus tastes very peculiar. Have you changed the recipe? The tub I bought this week tastes metallic!”
Many other chickpea lovers vented their frustrations at the news:
What's a gal gotta do to get some houmous? 💔💔💔 @sainsburys pic.twitter.com/ovlrIhANc7
— Nico (@rubberrrsoul) April 23, 2017
Hold all the telephones. #Chiswick @sainsburys is completely out of hummus. pic.twitter.com/ltLcMZ5Md8
— Chiswick Lib Dems (@LiberalChiswick) April 24, 2017
@sainsburys this signals the end of the world! Two days no houmous... It's my staple! #struggling pic.twitter.com/xxJqIKG7NW
— Neil Spencer Bruce (@lightb4sound) April 21, 2017
Hummus crisis in @sainsburys but my local one have you covered with a DIY version. pic.twitter.com/LgMBFJBQQL
— Raph of KHANNNNNNNN! (@lemonjellie) April 24, 2017
The @sainsburys houmous crisis in Ealing has reached new levels of sass... 😆 pic.twitter.com/nfPixooa8L
— Jess (@justjessikah) April 22, 2017
THIS is what happens when you open the blender when making Houmous.... #FAIL - Now I have to REPAINT the kitchen. True story. 😱🍴🎛 pic.twitter.com/T0JjQuIxsv
— Hursty & Helen 📻 (@hurstyandhelen) April 25, 2017
.@sainsburys your shop in oxford magdalen street hasn't had hummus in an ENTIRE WEEK. Very emotionally distressed about this.Pls sort it out
— flora (@Florgas_WalshKG) April 23, 2017
All the organic hummus in @sainsburys has been recalled. #FirstWorldProblems pic.twitter.com/92nt5oEefE
— Tessa Zalewska (@Tessicat) April 21, 2017
Well. That's my Saturday night RUINED. Houmous shortage in @sainsburys #FirstWorldProblems #gutted pic.twitter.com/ox7AIrbDEi
— SamSam (@sammywammy30) April 22, 2017
A survey in 2013 marked Britain as the hummus capital of Europe, with 41% of people having pots in the fridge, almost twice as many as any other country.
Waitrose was the first British supermarket to stock hummus in the 1980s, with others following in the next decade. Chefs such as Yotam Ottolenghi, Claudia Roden and Anissa Helou have done much to popularise Middle Eastern foods in recent years, and shoppers now view hummus as a grocery staple.
“It’s filling and sustaining but still has a healthy image, which is justified in many ways because chickpeas have lots of protein and tahini is a much better source of oil than many others. But in all honesty, I think it’s mainly the flavour,” Ottolenghi said at the time.
Last year, however, a health group said many healthy-sounding savoury products including hummus were “salt and fat traps” laden with excess calories. A 100g serving of the dip contains an average of 280 calories, almost 15% of the recommended daily intake for women, Consensus Action on Salt and Health found.
The little-known Bakkavor, which was named Chilled Own-label Supplier of the Year in 2015, supplies foods to supermarkets which then sell them on under their own brands. It employs 18,000 people around the world and deploys a so-called “just in time” supply model, which is supposed to ensure the minimum possible waste.
