Months of empty shelves: UK biscuit shortage drags on due to limited production at flood-damaged factory

By Heather Janssen, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

March 3,2016; 9:56PM,EST

 

The Biscuit Works factory in Carlisle, England, is still not up and running after Storm Desmond halted production and severely flooded the factory in December.
United Biscuits, who operates the factory and manufactures a number of products, has been experiencing shortages of popular brands, including McVitie's, Go Ahead and Jacob's.
(Flickr Photo/Matty Ring)
Popular varieties such as custard creams, bourbons and ginger nuts could be off supermarket shelves until mid-spring.
Carlisle, located in the hard-hit county of Cumbria, received 85 mm (4 inches) of rain from Storm Desmond. Widespread amounts between 180 and 200 mm (7 and 8 inches) fell across the Lakes.
"Over the course of a two-day period, it rained steadily across these areas," AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys said.
According to the Met Office, "the record-breaking rainfall associated with Storm Desmond caused severe disruption" and ultimately resulted in the flooding of 5,200 homes across Lancashire and Cumbria.
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A rain gauge at Honister Pass recorded a record-breaking 341 mm (13 inches) of rain in only 24 hours.
Additional rounds of heavy rain also fell following Storm Desmond, worsening existing flooding in Cumbria.
This past December, the U.K. received over 200 percent of their normal rainfall for the month, according to Roys.

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Louis Trupia ‎@LouisTrupia

#biscuitShortage Day 8 has just been improved. Mum sent me reinforcements. Must ration them though!

8:38 AM - 13 Feb 2016

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United Biscuits released in a statement that they currently have 400 United Biscuits employees, contractors and suppliers working at their factory site, assisting with the clean-up process.
"Resuming factory production is a priority for us and our teams are well on track with this as our Gold Bar production has started," the statement said.