French Fries in Europe to be an inch shorter

Potato lovers, brace yourself for this important public service announcement.

If you’re tucking into French fries, and feel like they’re noticeably smaller – it’s not your imagination.

A potato shortage is effecting the size of French fries – but the problem is only impacting Belgium, France and the U.K according to Food & WineFood & Wine

A complicated debate over what to call the fried potato snacks sparked a media storm on Twitter recently, proving just how invested people are in these iconic snacks.

We're not optimistic about how receptive potato chip fans will be to the drastic measures taken to combat the crippling shortage.

Australia isn’t the only country being effected by a drought, and the Europeans will feed on downsized portions until things look up.

According to Peirre Lebrun, head of Walloon Potato Growers’ Association, the drought has affected a large portion of Europe’s potato-growing regions. The crop yields are down 25 percent from normal, and this is the best option moving forward.

‘Because the potatoes are smaller at the moment, we will all be eating smaller chips’ he said.

The result of the power growing season could see the street food shrinking by three centimetres compared to its usual three-inch length.

Belgium alone has 5000 friteries in a country of 11 million people, and they will undoubtedly be feeling the impact of this change.

‘It’s the same thing across Southern England, the Netherlands, France and western Germany’ Lebrun continued.

The future of the fries is uncertain, with climate change taking its toll on the conditions, and any hope of longer fries proving to be unlikely.

Here's to hoping that the Europeans can adapt.