Lettuce disappeared from hamburgers due to the early cold wave

Yugyeong Jeong

Due to the sudden cold wave, lettuce suffered from cold damage, which put an emergency in supply and demand. On the 17th, the temperature in Seoul fell to the lowest level in 64 years since 1957. Frost damage and other cold damage continued in farmhouses, and prices soared more than three times compared to the average year. The wholesale market transaction price also rose significantly, more than five times higher than on the same day last year. Due to unstable supply and demand, it has become difficult to find lettuce in hamburgers, sandwiches, and salads sold in the market. It is not the first time that a franchise company has sold menus without some ingredients due to the supply and demand problem of agricultural products. In October of last year, tomatoes were removed from the menu and sold as the supply and demand of tomatoes became difficult due to the influence of the rainy season and typhoons and the price skyrocketed.

McDonald’s apologized through its website that some menu items may contain less lettuce or may be difficult to provide, and decided to provide free drink coupons. Subway said that salad sales may be temporarily suspended at some stores, and lettuce in sandwiches is only provided in quantity, and will do its best to normalize the supply as soon as possible. The rest of the burger franchises, such as Lotteria and Burger King, have not yet taken out lettuce, but they are preparing a countermeasure as they may experience difficulties in supply and demand. Since lettuce, a leafy vegetable, is vulnerable to weather and temperature, it is expected that supply shortages and strong prices will continue as shipments decrease due to the cold damage in many of the production areas.