Nando's shuts 45 restaurants in UK due to shortage of signature 'peri-peri chicken'

South African fast food joint Nando’s has been forced to close down dozens of restaurants in the United Kingdom due to a shortage of the chain’s signature peri-peri chicken. The shortage occurred in as many as 45 outlets across England, Scotland and Wales wherein the company sent some of its employees to suppliers in order to get the chicken shipments moving once again, a spokesperson for Nando’s told a British media agency. The highly popular flame-grilled Peri-Peri chicken uses Peri-Peri chilli seeds, which are specially grown on African soil and are rich in multivitamins.

Nando’s is the latest food joint to be hit by a supply bottleneck owing to a shortage of workers. While the coronavirus pandemic has subsided in the UK, its food industry has been experiencing wide-scale disruption. According to CNN, many food producers have struggled to recruit workers during the pandemic, heaping stress over the already strained supply chains. The situation has worsened particularly with the imposition of stringent covid rules like total isolation after exposure to a COVID positive person. Meanwhile, the sudden shutdown triggered a slew of negative comments online with people flocking together to ridicule Brexit. 

COVID-19 in the UK

Meanwhile, while the government moves to the gradual reopening of the UK, Britain is presently also dealing with another wave of COVID-19 driven by the Delta variant. However, notably, the coronavirus infections in the country dropped over the recent days. As of August 19, Britain had registered 6,355,887 COVID-19 cases with 131,260 deaths. Meanwhile, UK health officials have urged pregnant women to get Coronavirus jabs after a national study found that the Delta variant appeared to increase their risk of severe symptoms. Public Health England data suggest hundreds of thousands have not had the jab, as the number of mothers-to-be in hospital with the virus rises. According to BBC, England’s chief midwife stepped up her call for pregnant women to get the COVID-19 jabs as soon as possible and said that all healthcare professionals have a responsibility to proactively encourage expecting mothers to get vaccinated. As per reports, in the last three months, around 171 pregnant women with COVID-19 needed hospital care but none had had both jabs. 

Image: Nando's