Another Massive Condiment Shortage In New York?

Oh no! One of our favorite condiments could be disappearing from New York State shelves this summer, and it’s sending shoppers into a panic. 

If there’s one special sauce we can’t live without here in New York, it’s hot sauce. We love to dump it on everything - and we literally mean everything. Chicken wings, tacos, eggs, ramen; the list goes on and on. Some of us even like our ice cream spicy (Have you tried Perry’s new Bee Sting flavor? We hear it’s amazing). 

READ MORE: Have You Tried These Wild New Flavors Of Perry’s Ice Cream?

And everyone has their go-to favorite hot sauce to add some heat to their favorite meals. 

For wings, the standard is Frank’s Red Hot. Tacos and burritos are the perfect accompaniment to a bottle of Cholula. Tabasco, Louisiana Hot Sauce, Texas Pete - we really have no shortage of options to crank up the heat. 

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But one of the most popular hot sauces available in New York stores, one that goes perfectly with almost everything, may soon be impossible to get our hands on.

Sriracha Hot Sauce Shortage Coming To New York State?

Over the past few years, fans of the Asian staple sriracha hot sauce have noticed that finding it in stock at their local store could be hit or miss. Huy Fong Foods is the largest producer of sriracha hot sauce, recognized by that famous red bottle with a rooster and a green cap.

For a while, the popular spicy condiment was so hard to find that greedy people were selling it for as high as $60 per bottle on sites like Amazon and eBay. 

READ MORE: Shortage Of Popular Condiment Causing Headaches Across New York

If you’re a fan of the OG sriracha made by Huy Fong, you’d better stock up if you see it at your local store. It looks like a shortage is on the way. 

Huy Fong Foods Will Stop Making Sriracha Until At Least Fall

In a letter obtained by USA Today, Huy Fong Foods notified their wholesale buyers that they would be halting production of the popular sauce until after Labor Day, due to a lack of available red jalapeño chile peppers, and that any orders placed on or after May 6th would be canceled. 

“After reevaluating our supply of chili, we have determined that it is too green to proceed with production as it is affecting the color of the product.” - Huy Fong Foods

Will Another Sriracha Shortage Really Happen In New York?

Although the announcement from Huy Fong Foods is freaking out hot sauce lovers across the Empire State, you shouldn’t panic yet.

Stephanie Walker, a professor and extension vegetable specialist at New Mexico State University, told USA Today that other sriracha producers are having no trouble with their red chili supply, and she guesses that it may have to do with a rocky relationship between Huy Fong and their jalapeño suppliers.    

Indeed, several reputable brands make their own sriracha, and “generic” sriracha can be easily found at stores like Wegmans and Trader Joe’s, so you still should be able to get your spicy fix this summer. 

But the bad news?

Nothing tastes as good as the original sriracha with the red bottle and the green top…

Nothing. 

If you happen to come across some Huy Fong sriracha here in New York State in the coming days or weeks, try not to buy out the entire supply, and please save some for the rest of us.