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Original poster

Fruit and veg shortages

199 replies

Buttalapasta · 20/02/2023 07:42

I'm not in the UK but I keep on seeing pictures on Twitter of empty supermarket shelves for fruit and veg. Is it really a problem or are they isolated issues?

OP posts:
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13
RoseMartha · 20/02/2023 09:54

It varies, peppers and some soft fruit are sometimes not available where I am

YesYou · 20/02/2023 09:55

Out of interest I've just gone onto my Asda online account. There are clear shortages of these products. I wasn't in this supermarket when my friend denied what was before her very eyes!

You can get the "salad tomatoes" that taste of nothing but what's the point in that?

Fruit and veg shortages
Fruit and veg shortages
Fruit and veg shortages
maddiemookins16mum · 20/02/2023 09:58

There’s plenty of seasonal winter veg.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General food
Sweetcarol · 20/02/2023 10:25

No tomatoes or peppers here in sainsbos (NW).
Morrisons missing lots of stuff too. And general quality poor with short sell by dates.
Nothing to do with the B word though. Oh no ......

MissyB1 · 20/02/2023 10:36

Grumpybutfunny · 20/02/2023 09:09

@PacificallyRequested tomatoes aren't in seasons until May!

@MissyB1 farm shops have what is in seasons and aren't middle class at all.

It would be better for us as a country to be more self sustainable eating what we grow which means eating what's in season not expecting tomatoes and strawberries in winter!

No I didn’t say Farm shops were middle class did I? I actually said not everyone can drive out to one. I have often heard people (who don’t understand what it’s like to be hard up and living in a town/city), say “oh why don’t people buy from the farm shop?” Errmmm….because not everyone has a car? I think some middle class people find it hard to think from the perspective of less well off people was my point.

Greentree1 · 20/02/2023 10:37

In Aldi just now all the fruit and veg shelves fully stocked.

emmathedilemma · 20/02/2023 10:40

I went in 2 supermarkets on Friday evening and Saturday morning. I assumed the lack of stock at the first one was just a Friday evening thing but same on Saturday. No tomatoes, no peppers, and very little green veg.

MegaClutterSlut · 20/02/2023 10:41

For those saying its scare mongering, there are shortages. I work in a supermarket and we've had no tomatoes for a little while now, its completely bare in that section.

You can get most of everything else including peppers and cucumbers. we just don't the usual quantites in so some sell out by late afternoon. Best time to go in my local store is in the morning

Harebrain · 20/02/2023 10:48

There’s an abundance of everything where I live in the South East. No shortage of anything.

popandchoc · 20/02/2023 10:58

When i went to sainsburys yesterday it seemed very empty in the veg section.

1990s · 20/02/2023 11:02

YesYou · 20/02/2023 09:55

Out of interest I've just gone onto my Asda online account. There are clear shortages of these products. I wasn't in this supermarket when my friend denied what was before her very eyes!

You can get the "salad tomatoes" that taste of nothing but what's the point in that?

Its clearly not everywhere, these threads just start panic! Asda may not have one sort of peppers, but Waitrose clearly don’t have a problem…

Fruit and veg shortages
YesYou · 20/02/2023 11:06

Of course it's not everywhere and will vary by the time of day, deliveries and supermarkets. To say there is no shortage whatsoever is just silly though. There clearly is. It's not scaremongering at all. It's an issue in the supply chain currently.

Can't mention there's no peppers in Asda without people having a hissy fit and clamouring over themselves to deny it.

AKAsomeoneelse · 20/02/2023 11:29

@1990s I don’t think anyone is panicking about not being able to buy peppers 😅

Fifthtimelucky · 20/02/2023 11:37

I haven't seen any general shortages of fruit and veg at all. Occasionally there is something specific that I can't find, usually something on the unusual side (eg pomegranate or figs) but that is no more common now than it has ever been.

catandcoffee · 20/02/2023 11:41

Absolutely no shortages at all. It's people scaremongering.

They've probably taken pictures of super market shelves late Saturday evening, before it's all restocked.

cloudglazer · 20/02/2023 11:51

My local Waitrose had no tomatoes peppers or cucumber on Saturday. They had had a small delivery which sold out by the time I got there. Definitely didn't imagine it

countrygirl99 · 20/02/2023 12:06

catandcoffee · 20/02/2023 11:41

Absolutely no shortages at all. It's people scaremongering.

They've probably taken pictures of super market shelves late Saturday evening, before it's all restocked.

I go early Saturday morning. DH calls in for tops ups of fresh items at lunchtime when he is out working. It took 3 visits to either Sainsbury's or Tesco to get tomatoes last week. So not just a late on Saturday thing.

MissyB1 · 20/02/2023 12:54

Well just got back from Aldi and Asda. No peppers (of any description), or tomatoes in either shop.

ZittiEBuoni · 20/02/2023 12:56

Couldn't get red peppers on Saturday but just got yellow and orange instead. This is the first time I haven't been able to get everything on my list in ages tbh.

Marmite27 · 20/02/2023 12:59

catandcoffee · 20/02/2023 11:41

Absolutely no shortages at all. It's people scaremongering.

They've probably taken pictures of super market shelves late Saturday evening, before it's all restocked.

I just imagined it in 6 different supermarkets in two completely different geographical areas on Friday then?

I’ve actually just been back to two of them and another different Aldi, and they all had peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes in, but not huge amounts of stock.

TenoringBehind · 20/02/2023 13:00

No problems at all in my area of the East Mids (various supermarkets, although not Aldi)

Galadriel90 · 20/02/2023 13:36

@catandcoffee

Did I imagine no tomatoes or red peppers in three supermarkets this weekend? Can you see further than the end of your nose?

CointreauVersial · 20/02/2023 13:39

No tomatoes at all in the giant Asda near us.....but the little Co-Op had three different types. I think it's safe to say supply is a bit "sporadic" but it's not quite to the extent of loopaper during Covid!

BiddyPop · 20/02/2023 13:44

The quality has definitely dropped (I suspect due to longer time to ship from farm to shop) in the past 2 years.

In terms of availability, there is less of a lot of fresh food on shelves more recently, not just F&V. And shops often have large gaps. All types of meat, eggs, milk!!, fresh pasta sauces. Milk (and eggs) have been worst. And variety of meat available has definitely dropped.

Specifically on F&V though, in the past 2 months:
No Brussels sprouts 3 times
No mushrooms 6 times
No tomatoes 3 times
About 3 peppers left twice
No courgettes 4 times
No carrots once
No parsnips twice
Not a few packs of potatoes left 3 times

I'm less likely to notice fruit but I haven't been able to get lemons or limes a couple of times and definitely fewer varieties of apple (all pink lady and gala - I much prefer Jazz or Braeburn).

AmberGer · 20/02/2023 13:52

No peppers in Sainsbury's but went over to Morrisons and got them there. No problem.