LOS ANGELES — As the weather in Southern California heats up this summer, residents may need to come up with backup options for bringing heat to their favorite dishes.
Huy Fong Foods Inc., producer of Sriracha hot sauce, said last summer's drought in Mexico continues to hamper its ability to churn out the iconic green-capped bottles of its popular spicy condiment.
"Unfortunately, we are still experiencing a shortage of raw material," the Irwindale, California, company said in a statement, referring to the chiles from Mexico that have ended up in short supply because of the bad weather conditions.
Huy Fong Foods typically uses about 50,000 tons of chiles a year in producing its three condiments, which also include a chile-garlic sauce and a sambal oelek.
Though some production resumed last fall, the company still has a "limited supply that continues to affect our production," the statement said. And it's not clear when chiles may become more readily available — Huy Fong Foods offered "no estimations of when supply will increase."
The company does not know which outlets have its products in stock but said it is "working on trying to avoid future shortages."
As customers again feel the squeeze from what Huy Fong Foods called an "unprecedented inventory shortage," they may have to look elsewhere for their sauce needs.
On Amazon, a single 9-ounce bottle of Sriracha cost $9.50 on Tuesday. Under the three-pack option, the site notes: "We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."
