Perth and WA faces sliced bread shortage after fire disrupts Tip Top factory
A fire at an industrial bread facility in Perth's south causes a shortage of sliced bread on supermarket shelves across Western Australia. (ABC: Bec Whetham)
A fire at an industrial bread facility in Perth's south has caused a shortage of sliced bread on supermarket shelves across Western Australia.
Tip Top Bakeries' Canning Vale site has been operating at reduced capacity since the blaze on Wednesday, with the cause of the fire unknown.
A spokesperson for the company said parts of the industrial bread facility continued to function, and bread was being transported into WA daily from South Australia.
"While we anticipate some short-term impact to bread availability in Western Australia over the next few days, our team is working swiftly to restore full operations," the spokesperson said.
Tip Top said it apologised "for any inconvenience while we work to safely recommence our full bakery operations as quickly as possible." (ABC News: Brant Cumming)
To help fill the gap in supply, Perth-based bakehouse Mias Bakery said it had been working "around the clock" to support Tip Top and customers.
"We are trying to support our competitor in baking some of their product for them," bakery director Steven Dunkley told ABC Radio Perth.
"We are trying to do our best to evenly spread supply across all retailers.
"I imagine country areas are probably going to feel it more than those WA families in Perth.
"I do feel that there will be some supply issues for some time for some brands."
Call to support local
Mr Dunkley said it was an opportunity for shoppers to support their neighbourhood bakery.
"There's some great bakers out there that make some great products. It's a good chance to try something a little different," he said.
"Our guys are [working] around the clock but I imagine the other bakers will jump into action as demand increases."
Close up of Mias Bakery bread on a supermarket shelf. (ABC News: Kate Lambe)
A spokesperson for supermarket giant Coles said some sandwich bread products had been affected by the "temporary supply disruption".
"We thank our customers for their patience and remain committed to restocking shelves as quickly as possible," the spokesperson said.
A number of other supermarkets took to social media to alert customers to the shortage, with FoodWorks on Thursday saying there would be a limit of three loaves per person at its Moora and Dalwallinu stores.
Bruce Rock Supermarket said bread would be sourced from another bakery, and Woolworths Midvale confirmed it would bake additional loaves in-house to keep shelves stocked.
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