Asda confirmed yesterday, March 13, that it will be removing all purchasing restrictions on fresh produce, including limits on tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers from today, March 14. The supermarket follows other retailers, such as Aldi and Lidl.
Asda lifted the cap on customers buying cucumbers, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries last week.
However, shoppers were still limited to buying a maximum of three packets of tomatoes and peppers each.
But the supermarket said last week that availability had improved and it expected to lift the limit soon.
The food retailer is allowing customers to shop in the usual way from today as supply levels have returned to normal.
The news comes just days after Aldi announced over the weekend that it will also be removing all purchasing restrictions on fresh produce, including limits on tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.
The supermarket’s restrictions were officially lifted yesterday, March 13.
On Friday, March 10, Lidl also announced it would be lifting restrictions on all ranges by the beginning of this week.
Morrisons has lifted some restrictions, but some remain in place.
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Morrisons removed the limits on purchases of cucumbers, but limits remain in place on tomatoes, lettuce and peppers to two packets per customer.
British supermarkets introduced rationing in February as they struggled to cope with supply issues and shortages.
These were caused by “difficult weather conditions in the south of Europe and northern Africa, which disrupted the harvest of some fruit and vegetables, including tomatoes and peppers”, according to British Retail Consortium director Andrew Opie.
He added: “While disruption is expected to last a few weeks, supermarkets are adept at managing supply chain issues and are working with farmers to ensure that customers can access a wide range of fresh produce.
“In the meantime, some stores are introducing temporary limits on the number of products customers can buy to ensure availability for everyone.”
President of the National Farmers’ Union, Minette Batters, told BBC Breakfast that “the more we face shortages, the more it will drive food inflation”.
“We’ve got to come up with a way of making sure we can keep producing what the nation needs,” he said.
“We’ve got 70 million people in this country, it’s an island nation, and food security needs to be taken really seriously.”
Supermarkets have also issued various food recalls in recent days and weeks.
Asda, Aldi, Tesco and Sainsbury’s all have products that they are asking customers to return to store for a full refund.
This is because there might be a health and safety issue with the product, meaning it could cause harm to certain individuals if eaten.
Express.co.uk has a full list of current food recalls.
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