Apr 17, 2008 11:59 pm US/Pacific
Matzo Shortage Makes Passover Plans Difficult
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / KCBS) ―
As Passover nears, an important part of the Jewish holiday is difficult, if not impossible, to find.
There is a shortage of the crispy, flat bread that Jews eat throughout the week-long holiday. Much of the holiday revolves around matzo, though some bigger chain stores like Costco and Trader Joe's decided not to carry it this year. There are reports that other grocery chains, like Safeway, are running out of matzo.
Many consumers are turning to smaller stores like Berkeley's Afikomen in search of matzo. "The challenge for us is that we bought a limited quantity, based on what we sold in the past and what we can expect to increase sales for another year," explained Afikomen's Chaim Mahgel. "But we didn't quantities anticipating any kind of shortage in the market."
According to Mahgel, another problem actually lies with one of the major matzo producers. Manischewitz introduced a new piece of equipment recently, but engineering delays have kept the high speed baker from producing matzo in quantities that meet market demand.
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