Salt meat is a staple of Newfoundland cooked dinners, but an unforeseen challenge for a local producer could hinder the supply chain leading into the holiday season.

Ken Bursey, president of Blue Buoy Foods, which makes Chalker’s Salt Meat, says sales across the country are up “phenomenally,” noting that Newfoundlanders living out west are “screaming” for the product.

The problem, however, lies with the pail company they deal with in Quebec.

One of their machines is broken, meaning they have lots of orders to fill, but no pails for the product.

According to Bursey, the situation could end up costing the company a significant amount of money.

The result, he says, could be the loss of “millions” of dollars in sales.

He says they were able to get enough product out for Thanksgiving, but the big concern now is Christmas.

Bursey says he’s been told the machinery will be fixed by the end of the month.

However, he has started reaching out to other manufacturers for help ahead of the Christmas season.