5@5: Is TikTok causing food shortages? | Bird flu adds to food inflation stress

The viral TikTok recipes causing food shortages

We've reported a bunch this week on the influence of TikTok within the food world, but this Eater article notes that the rising interest in global cuisine and niche ingredients isn't all sunshine and roses. Viral food trends from TikTok have led to shortages of everything from feta cheese to Kewpie mayonnaise to Martinelli's apple juice, and in an age when consumers expect immediate access to the food products they want this can cause significant stress to both them and an already strained supply chain.

Bird flu is raging, adding to the risks for food inflation

More than 40 countries across Europe, Asia and Africa have seen bird flu outbreaks since May, according to World Organisation for Animal Health data. This may drive food prices, which are near record levels, even higher as well as boost costs for households that are already suffering from surging prices for other commodities. Bloomberg writes that European chicken output is already hampered by labor shortages and high feed and energy costs, which are growing problems across the globe.

Eat Just's GOOD Meat granted regulatory approval to sell new cultivated chicken products in Singapore

Singapore is really doubling down on alternative proteins and cultivated meat: Eat Just recently announced its GOOD Meat division has received the regulatory go-ahead to sell new types of lab-grown chicken products in Singapore. The company will debut one of these new formats, a chicken breast, at the JW Marriott Singapore South Beach next week. As part of the announcement, GOOD Meat also committed to increased investment in its cultivated meat production capacity in Singapore over the next two years. Learn more at The Spoon.

Union urges CEOs of food chains to reinforce mask wearing

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union said in a letter to the CEOS of Walmart, Kroger and others that they should reinstate social distancing protocols and urge customers to wear masks at all locations. It also is pushing chains to provide paid sick leave benefits to encourage workers to get the initial vaccination or the vaccination booster should they have a reaction. The union, which has 1.3 million members, also said that companies should further increase worker hourly pay to alleviate the impact of surging prices in food and other basics. AP reports.

Biden says he is 'deeply troubled' by Kellogg’s plan to permanently replace striking workers

President Biden, in a statement released last Friday referencing Kellogg Co.'s plan to replace striking workers, wrote: "Permanently replacing striking workers is an existential attack on the union and its members’ jobs and livelihoods, and such action undermines the critical role collective bargaining plays in providing workers a voice and the opportunity to improve their lives while contributing fully to their employer’s success." The company and the union came to a tentative agreement on the contract in a bid to end the strike, but union workers "overwhelmingly" rejected that agreement. Fox Business has the details.