Sriracha Hot Sauce Shortage Could Last All Summer

Huy Fong Foods, the makers behind the beloved Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, have announced a "severe" shortage of their flagship product. In a letter distributed by the company this spring, the company unveiled it was suffering a shortage of chili peppers and, in turn, decided to momentarily postpone orders, meaning distributors and retailers would be unable to buy product to sell to consumers.

Now, Huy Fong says orders won't be expected to be active until sometime after Labor Day, meaning the sriracha will be in short supply until at least September 6th.

"Currently, due to weather conditions affecting the quality of chili peppers, we now face a more severe shortage of chili," the letter reads. Without chili peppers, the company cannot make sriracha or its other flagship sauces  Chili Garlic and Sambal Oelek.

The letter adds, "We understand that this may cause issues. However, during this time we will not accept any new orders to be placed before September as we will not have enough inventory to fulfill your order."

Mexico and the western United States are suffering a historic drought that could be impacting pepper growth times. In one example, the New Mexican Department of Agriculture says its pepper crop decreased by 21-percent between 2020 and 2021.

This isn't the first time Sriracha has made national headlines. In 2015, the factory that produces the fiery nectar was deemed a public nuisance by one Southern California city for the odors emanating from the premises of the facility. Shortly after the initial declaration, officials in Irwindale reversed course and dropped the nuisance case.

"We have to keep employment in Irwindale. We have to expand. It's good for Irwindale. It's good for California," then-mayor Mark Breceda said at time. Employing some 70 full-time workers, Huy Fong makes roughly 20 million bottles of Sriracha a year. Made from ground chilis, the odors coming from the factory's exhaust output was bothering local residents. The company has since reportedly changed its filtration process.

Cover photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images