Boneless chicken has become the latest item to experience a shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fortune reports that North American food retailers are opting for thighs and drumsticks in lieu of boneless chicken legs. Now, shuttered meatpacking plants are experiencing diminished supplies of the beloved boneless cut.
Food delivery subscription service Goodfood Market Corp., a Quebec-based company, has revealed it will replace boneless chicken for less-favored bone-in thighs, legs, and drumsticks.
“Poultry suppliers are still facing labor shortages and many of them are operating with less than 50% of their regular workforce,” Goodfood Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Ferrari wrote in an email to customers, per Fortune. “To ensure the essential supply of chicken for Canadians across the country, the poultry industry as a whole is shifting away from de-boning chicken legs to increase their production capacity.”
Coronavirus outbreaks in some of the biggest meat processing plants in the U.S. and Canada have lowered slaughter capacity and the varieties of cuts that are available. Still, just this week, Donald Trump signed an executive order that labels plants as critical infrastructure and mandates that they stay open. The order also forces those that have closed to reopen.
The day before that, Tyson Foods issued a full-page evaluation of the state of the meat industry and the food supply chain amid the pandemic. “As pork, beef, and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain,” John Tyson, Chairman of the Board at Tyson Foods, said in a statement. “As a result, there will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed.”
