Zinger Burger Shake-Up As KFC Swaps Out Key Ingredient After Food Price Hike

KFC fans have been left outraged after the iconic fast-food chain revealed it had substituted cabbage into many of its menu items due to a lettuce shortage. 

The fried chicken restaurant released a statement on their website letting their Aussie customers from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, ACT, and Tasmania know the devastating news.

The fast-food giant cited the impacts of floods in Queensland and NSW as a major disruption to the supply of lettuce.

The statement said: “This means you may see a temporary blend of lettuce and cabbage throughout KFC restaurants in NSW, VIC, QLD, ACT and TAS during these shortages. 

“If that’s not your bag, simply click ‘Customise’ on your chosen product and remove Lettuce from the recipe.

“We’re working with our multiple suppliers to provide them with support, but we do expect disruptions to continue in the coming days.  

“Apologies for any inconvenience caused, we appreciate you all being Little Gems as we work to get things back to normal ASAP.”

Cabbage on a Zinger Burger is absolute blasphemy, and KFC fans aren’t too happy.

However, you can’t blame KFC too much with the cost of lettuce soaring due to the floods wiping out much of the crop earlier this year.

According to Bloomberg, shoppers have been paying around $12 for a head of iceberg lettuce, with other produce such as watermelon costing upward of $25. 

However, the way some fried chicken lovers have reacted you’d think that it’s the lettuce that gives Zinger Burgers their ‘zing’. 

One Twitter user said: “Taking my own iceberg lettuce and a shredder to the KFC.”

Another said: “The fact that you are replacing lettuce with cabbage makes me rethink my whole meal at KFC.

“There’s 4 or 5 other things I would eat before cabbage it’s such a weird choice.”

While another fan of the Colonel likened the lettuce and cabbage blend to ‘the apocalypse’. 

KFC hasn’t had a tonne of luck so far this year, facing a chicken shortage in January that severely impacted many of the menu items.

Coronavirus cases and close contact isolations had contributed to chain supply problems. 

According to Perth Now, one KFC restaurant had a sign outside its doors that read: "Due to supply issues, we have no original chicken, zingers, fillets or wings. Please refer to sold-out sticker for available items."

The Colonel really can’t catch a break with the Finger Lickin’ Goodness now tainted by cabbage.

Featured Image Credit: KFC. Quality Stock / Alamy Stock Photo.

Topics: KFC, Australia, Food And Drink

Jayden Collins

Jayden Collins is a Journalist at LADbible. He has worked across multiple media platforms in areas such as sport, music, pop culture, entertainment and politics. He is part of the editorial team for LADbible Australia.