*Chicken tenders now join the growing list of items that have become scarce or more expensive amid the holidays.
As reported by Today.com, “Chicken tenders, which are the smaller fillet of a whole chicken breast, require more processing to package and sell than chicken nuggets, which are made of scrap meat from the whole bird. That is why tenders can be harder to find or more costly, according to industry experts,” the outlet writes.
The article goes on to note that major chains like Kentucky Fried Chicken and A&W have omitted chicken tenders from marketing campaigns to avoid selling out of them.
“There is no safe harbor in the supply chain right now,” said Brian Morris, learning and development vice president at Hattie B’s Hot Chicken based in Nashville, Tennessee. “We see it across the board, but certainly you feel the pain the most in tenders.”
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The meat shortage and skyrocketing prices at grocery stores is reportedly primarily due to pandemic-related supply chain issues.
“USDA is conducting an ongoing joint investigation with the Department of Justice into price-fixing in the chicken-processing industry,” the White House said in a September post, USA Today reports.
“Multiple, unprecedented market shocks, including a global pandemic and severe weather conditions, led to an unexpected and drastic drop in meat processors’ abilities to operate at full capacity,” said Tyson Foods in a September press release. “Labor shortages are also affecting the nation’s pork and poultry supply.”
While the reasons for the meat shortage varies, not all experts agree that a problem exists.
“There is no chicken tender shortage. Like almost all goods right now, supplies are somewhat tight, but I would say it falls short of any ‘shortage,'” says Tom Super, senior vice president of communications at the National Chicken Council. “Like almost anything right now, some products might take longer than usual to get to where they need to be, but in most cases they get there.”
Chicken tender prices have reportedly been declining since early September.
“We’re dealing with the same rise in input costs, labor shortages and trucking challenges as most other industries right now. In the face of all of these supply chain challenges, chicken production will actually be up this year, according to USDA,” Super says.
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