New Yorkers could be forgiven for feeling a little cheesed off this week after it emerged that shortages in the global supply chain might soon leave a hole in their diet.

Delis across the Big Apple are struggling to secure their usual supplies of cream cheese, the New York Times reported.

One outlet, Pick-a-Bagel predicted that its paltry supply of the white stuff would only last up until later today. “This is very bad,” said manager Pedro Aguilar.

Zabar’s, an upscale deli in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, says its own stocks will be depleted within days. General manager Scott Goldshine says he will do whatever it takes to keep his bagel-eating customers happy.

“Begging is one of my plans, which I have done, and it’s helped,” he said.

Nick Patta, who has worked at Absolute Bagels on the Upper West Side for 11 years, said his usual supplier had run out of the shop’s regular brand for the first time he could recall.

“We went this week and the shelves were empty,” he told the Times.

The city’s bagel sellers shmear their way through thousands of kilos of cream cheese every few weeks. Most bagel shops usually base their spread on Philadelphia cream cheese but this is not the same stuff available in supermarkets - the raw product comes unprocessed and unwhipped so that sellers can conjure up their own creations.

As here in the UK, the US has been hit by a range of shortages due to supply chain problems in recent months, with scarcities hitting everything from coats to cars.

The latest issue has not happened overnight, as dairy suppliers say that the orders they place with manufacturers have been falling short for about three weeks.

“I’ve never been out of cream cheese for 30 years,” said Joseph Yemma, owner of F&H Dairies in Brooklyn. “There’s no end in sight.”