Not again! California-based hot sauce company Sriracha is looming on another supply shortage after producer Huy Fong Foods halted production until after Labor Day – September 2.

The company, which produces the chilli and garlic sauce that belongs on everything (fight us) has sparked fears of a shortage after placing blame on the red jalapeno chillies that are the key to the sauce’s tangy sweet heat. Apparently the chillies are not red enough.

“After reevaluating our supply of chilli, we have determined that it is too green to proceed with production as it is affecting the colour of the product,” the company told wholesale buyers in a letter this week.

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The next chilli season begins around September as the weather starts to cool, however a drought in Mexico – where the chillies are grown – has spelled disaster for spice lovers as crops fail and water restrictions remain in place.

This is not the first time in recent years that Sriracha shortages have rattled fans around the world. In 2016, a disastrous falling out between founder of Huy Fong Foods, David Tran and his former chilli supplier Craig Underwood left both parties millions of dollars out of pocket and with a patchy supply of jalapenos to fill Sriracha orders.

In 2020, Huy Fong Foods announced it was experiencing low stock of the chilli sauce, and in 2022, blamed severe weather for a lack of supply. At that time, some “entrepreneurs” began posting bottles of the scarce green-capped sauce on eBay for upward of $180. That’s gotta sting.

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