Fig snacks shortage is taking the biscuit

Asda has wiped them off the shelves, Sainsbury's isn't expecting any deliveries and Tesco is drawing a blank.

If you are a fan of fig biscuits then you may have a long wait until you get your hands on your next packet.

Stores across the West Midlands are reporting a shortage of the biscuits but say requests from customers are coming in thick and fast. The Express & Star has discovered the shortage is down to a drought affecting crops in Turkey and rigorous testing by the Food Standards Agency.

At Sainsbury's in Sandringham Way, Brierley Hill, customers are being warned of the shortage.

"We have not had any in for two weeks," said grocery supervisor Marie Smith.

"Where the fig biscuits would normally be we have special cards, informing our customers that there is a shortage. A lot of people, especially our older customers, like them and we get requests every day.

"When they do come in again I'm sure they will be treated like a delicacy."

Asda in Wolverhampton, is saying fig biscuits no longer exist on their computer ordering system.

"Fig biscuits have been deleted off our computers for four weeks," pointed out Stennett Harvey, Asda grocery manager.

Asda in Wednesbury Oak Road in Tipton is reporting the same problem.

Bev Jones, customer service assistant at Tesco in Brownhills says: "When I put the product into our computer system it comes up as 'no match' - it is like they don't exist any more."

Shopper Juliet Dolphin, 37, from Kingswinford says: "I love them and have eaten them since I was a little girl.

Nicci Taylor, 30, from Brierley Hill said: "I'm sure there must be some parents at the end of their tether trying to find fig biscuits for their children as they are a bit of a family favourite."

Alison Harper, a spokeswoman for Jacobs, said: "Most fig products come from Turkey and there has been a bad drought there, which has had a big impact on crops. Also, the Food Standards Agency has been testing for something called asla-toxins in the figs.

"However, we have managed to get them in from the US so, hopefully, Jacob's Fig Rolls should be back in shops by the end of April."