The Iran war has wreaked havoc on global supply chains, caused a spike in oil prices and scrambled international trade.
Now it is coming for potato chips.
The Japanese food giant Calbee said on Tuesday that it would temporarily abandon its brightly colored plastic snack bags in favor of black-and-white wrapping because of “instability affecting certain raw materials amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.”
The company said in a statement that the measure was meant to “help maintain a stable supply of products,” adding that it would not affect the quality of the snacks.
Calbee is making the change because it is having trouble securing naphtha, a crude-oil derivative used in printing inks, a spokeswoman for the company confirmed by telephone.
Japan, along with much of Asia, is already feeling the effects of the war. Japan imports more than 90 percent of its oil — and 40 percent of its naphtha — from the Middle East.
Naphtha is a key ingredient in plastic, and food manufacturers have complained in recent weeks that shortages are hurting their ability to package products like tofu and tea leaves. Manufacturers of cars, bathrooms and paint have also reported problems securing naphtha.
Kei Sato, a Japanese cabinet official, sought to reassure the public when asked on Tuesday about Calbee’s decision to change its packaging.
“We have not received any reports of immediate supply problems for printing inks or naphtha,” he said at a news conference in Tokyo. “We believe that the necessary quantities for Japan as a whole are secured.”
He added that government ministries were communicating with the companies involved “to understand the situation.”
Calbee said that 14 products would go grayscale starting this month. The list includes various flavors of potato chips, including lightly salted, consommé punch and seaweed. The change also affects its Kappa Ebisen, or shrimp-flavored sticks, and granola.
Calbee, founded in 1949, dominates Japan’s snack-food shelves with about half of the overall market and 70 percent of the potato chip market.
River Akira Davis contributed reporting from Tokyo.
Javier C. Hernández is the Tokyo bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of Japan and the region. He has reported from Asia for much of the past decade, previously serving as China correspondent in Beijing.
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