Leggo Your Eggo: There's a Waffle Shortage

by Julianne Pepitone

provided by

Kellogg is rationing its Eggo products due to flooding and equipment problems at two bakeries. The shortfall could last through mid-2010.

Better hoard your Eggos!

Grocery stores will be experiencing a shortage of the waffles until mid-2010 due to problems at two bakeries, a Kellogg's spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Flooding at an Atlanta bakery during heavy rains in October forced Kellogg, which makes Eggo products, to shut down production temporarily, said company spokesman Kris Charles. Plus, equipment at Kellogg's largest waffle facility, based in Rossville, Tenn., needs extensive repairs.

"We are working around the clock to restore Eggo store inventories to normal levels as quickly as possible," Charles said in an e-mail.

Remaining inventory will be rationed to stores across the country "based on historical percentage of business."

Production figures are confidential, Charles said, but Charles added that all lines are operational except for several lines at the Rossville plant.

Chad, a grocery manager at King Soopers in Denver who declined to give his last name, said his store is "seeing some shortage, but not much." A Kroger in Jackson, Miss., was also experiencing shortages, according to a manager in the frozen foods sections. At Fairway in New York City, Eggos were in full supply, however, according to a manager at the Red Hook location.

The production problems will also affect other Eggo products, including pancakes, syrup and other breakfast food. To alert customers, Kellogg has placed a warning to customers on top of its Eggo Web site and placed notices in some grocery stores.

Twitter bites back. Eggo enthusiasts took to the Internet to mourn the shortage. Lovers of the Twilight vampire movie series thinking about another kind of bite, as Twitter fanpage editors comforted each other via the social media site.

User @KStew411, a page devoted to Twilight star Kristen Stewart, tweeted on Tuesday: "I am despondent. DESPONDENT. My 4 food groups are: tacos, skittles, pop, and eggos!"

User @cullenluv sent a message of support: "We're outta Eggos here, too!! It's a national tragedy!!"

Copyrighted, CNNMoney. All Rights Reserved

Kellogg's 'laser-etched' cornflakes

By staff writers

news.com.au

This is the image Kellogg's posted online as an example of laser-etched food. Picture: Kellogg's / TwitPic

• Cereal-maker's bizarre claim
• Plans to 'laser-etch corn flakes'
• Technology: Kellogg's confirms laser plan

IS this a marketing stunt, an elaborate hoax or a bizarre attempt by one of the world's biggest food producers to protect an iconic breakfast cereal from imitators?

The British PR office for Kellogg's claimed on its Twitter feed today that it has succeeded in etching its brand into individual corn flakes so they stand out against any copies.

UPDATE: Kellogg's confirms laser-etched cornflakes are real - but not in Australia »

"Now you'll always be able to tell your Corn Flakes from your corn fakes!" Kellogg's UK announced on Twitter, with a link to an image of branded cereal.

Incredulous

Kellogg's claims the image, which looks like a badly doctored photograph, shows the result of a laser process that directs a concentrated beam of light onto the flake, using mirrors to control the burn.

The UK's Daily Telegraph today quoted a food technologist named as Helen Lyons as saying: "We want shoppers to be under absolutely no illusion that Kellogg's does not make cereal for anyone else.

"We've established that it is possible to apply a logo or image onto food, now we need to see if there is a way of repeating it on large quantities of our cereal," Ms Lyons said.

"We're constantly looking at new ways to reaffirm this and giving our golden flakes of corn an official stamp of approval could be the answer."

Laser-etching has been used to customise gadgets, create artworks and – in one dangerous experiment – tattoo a teenager's arm.

In 2005, Time magazine recognised Greg Drouillard for his invention of fruit tattoos, which was being tested at the time.

Mr Drouillard, a researcher for Sunkist Growers, says the laser essentially cauterises the burn on the food to stop it from spoiling.

Kellogg to drop Phelps over pot smoking photo

Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps takes a break while training at the... Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps trains at the Meadowbrook Aquatic Cent... Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps trains at the Meadowbrook Aquatic Cent...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Cereal and snack maker Kellogg Co. says it will not renew its sponsorhip contract with Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps because he has acknowledged smoking marijuana last fall. The Battle Creek, Mich.-based company said Thursday that Phelps's behavior—caught on camera and published Sunday—is "not consistent with the image of Kellogg." The company put Phelps on boxes of its Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes. Phelps has kept the backing of many sponsors since the photos surfaced that showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe. Phelps's agent was not immediately available to comment. Kellogg says its contract with Phelps expires at the end of the month. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.