Beer shortages, fried chicken shortages, milkshake shortages and now a nationwide pasta shortage.
The national shortage of pasta has been caused by a shortage of durum wheat (which is ground into semolina to make spaghetti, penne and macaroni) leaving some supermarkets with shelves.
It turns out this is leading to Bristol supermarkets being left with a very limited selection. Wholewheat fusilli... gone, penne... gone, conchiglie... gone. The pasta shortage is leaving some stores with just spaghetti.
This sets a worrying precedent.
Read More: I visited Wetherspoon in Bristol to find out how bad the beer shortage is
We can’t just be left with spaghetti - it’s hard enough to eat the stuff on a date without looking self-conscious - let alone at work.
Which is why we’ve moved towards the dependable penne, which seamlessly fits in any Tupperware box and doesn’t cause any trauma when attempting to eat the pasta on your lunch break or at home.
But you can’t take spaghetti to work the next day, that’s an accident waiting to happen. The tomato sauce dripping from the spaghetti all over your white shirt (well, it used to be a work shirt but once the morning Zoom call ends it’s definitely a jumper).
This is why we need penne, conchiglie and fusilli - they’re the pasta we can take everywhere and eat and not look like a slob.
Without it, the only rise in sales we’ll see is in Vanish remover.
I set out to discover whether the reported pasta shortage had reached Bristol and found that Sainsbury’s the city centre offered a very bleak selection - leaving just lasagne sheets and spaghetti.
It didn’t even feature a 'we'll be back shortly' food sign to give customers hope.
Instead it just offered an empty shelf, perhaps indicating they don’t know when it’ll be back.
So I then took a trip to Tesco, hoping for a different outcome. And whilst there was a bit of hope with some penne and macaroni that was it. No funny shaped pasta, just penne, tagliatelle and macaroni.
However, if you’re looking for pasta, Tesco will deliver a small range but if you’re looking for anything more, Sainsbury’s will leave you feeling disappointed.
To use their own catchphrase “helping everyone eat better” they certainly are. By running out of pasta.
Tesco and Sainsbury's have both been approached for comment on the pasta shortage.
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