Oh McNo! Now Legend is hit by shortages

IT was forced to stop selling its signature milkshakes earlier this year.

But now McDonald’s has halted offering its popular Chicken Legend for delivery nationwide in the latest evidence of shortages hitting high street chains.

Customers have complained in recent days about the absence of the product, consisting of a battered chicken breast, lettuce and mayonnaise on a stonebaked brown roll.

The fast-food chain said the unavailability of the sandwich was part of a wider national issue. It said on Twitter: ‘Like most retailers, we are experiencing some supply chain issues.

‘This is impacting the availability of the Chicken Legend, so we have made the decision to remove this product in the short term. We are working hard to return the item to our menu as soon as possible.’

While the Chicken Legend is unavailable for delivery through apps such as Just Eat, some customers said they were unable to buy the sandwich in restaurants.

Britain is suffering a labour crisis, which includes a shortage of 500,000 workers in the food supply chain as well as delivery drivers. This is leaving gaps on shelves which is expected to get worse in the run up to Christmas. Other chains such as Nando’s, Greggs and Pizza Express have suffered shortages of key ingredients in recent weeks. In August McDonald’s pulled milkshakes from most of its UK outlets because of mass delivery disruption. One sandwich fan wrote on Twitter: ‘Why the hell would you get rid of Chicken Legends you absolute psychos? What is wrong with you? I will riot I swear.’ Another wrote: ‘For the past two weeks I’ve not been able to order a Chicken Legend through Uber Eats or Just Eat. Two local branches not on menu.’

It comes as members of the food industry warned that huge quantities of good food are being thrown away because of a lack of people to harvest, process and deliver it.

This week Ian Wright, chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation, told MPs: ‘Across supermarkets and in hospitality, something like one in five orders are not being fulfilled on time, in the right place and in the right quantity.’

McDonald’s said the Chicken Legend is still available to buy in its restaurants.