That next cheeseburger order may be missing that side of French fries after cold and wet weather reportedly damaged potato crops in the U.S. and Canada.

The impact of the unseasonal weather means smaller potatoes for French fry processors, which typically use longer potatoes to produce their fries, Blomberg reported.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that domestic potato output will drop as much as 6.1% this year, marking the lowest potato harvest since 2010, and for Idaho, the largest producer of potatoes, will reportedly see their crop drop by 5.5%.

Even Canada is feeling the French fry pinch as 18% of Manitoba’s potato region was left unharvested, the United Potato Growers of Canada estimates, which prevented farmers from digging up some potato crops due to the snow and rain, the news outlet said.

It is also expected that potato prices could jump throughout North America based on the shortage of potatoes overall, Stephen Nicholson, a senior grains and oilseeds analyst at Rabobank told Blomberg.

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Americans who dine out tend to consume more salt than those who eat at home. Dining at a fast-food restaurant boosts salt intake by about 300 milligrams per day but eating at a sit-down restaurant can be even worse. Pixabay
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