Chicken Wing 'Shortage' Was A Half-Baked Rumor, Say Experts
By Tim Jimenez
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The National Chicken Council is now dismissing reports, as Wing Bowl 21 approaches, that there is a chicken wing shortage.
So, you can relax: the national nightmare of a chicken wing shortage isn't a reality. We confirmed this with Jim Fris, chief operating officer of PJ Whelihan's, which has 14 locations in Pennsylvania and South Jersey.
"There's going to be a lot of wings sold in the Delaware Valley next Sunday for the Super Bowl, and a lot of wings used for Wing Bowl, and at this point I don't see any shortage issues," he told KYW Newsradio today.
PJ Whelihan's is the official supplier of wings to SportsRadio 94WIP's Wing Bowl.
So your Super Bowl party is safe -- although wings may cost you more.
"Prices are significantly up," Fris notes. "(In) 2011 we hit the lowest price of wings in twenty years. In 2012 we hit the highest price of wings in twenty years."
According to the National Chicken Council, wings are at $2.11 a pound, up 26 cents from the year before.
Fris says this time of year there's just more demand, and new players in the game.
"A week or two ago, McDonald's announced they were going to start selling wings, so it's simple supply and demand," he says.
