Major supermarket becomes latest to update rules on fruit and vegetable limits
A MAJOR supermarket has become the latest to update its rules on fruit and vegetable limits for customers.
Aldi has said that from Monday shoppers will no longer be limited to only buying three items per person on various fresh produce items.
It follows the news earlier this week that Asda, Morrisons and Lidl have also eased their restrictions.
Aldi had previously imposed the limit on tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers following widespread shortages.
A spokesperson for Aldi said: “From Monday (March 13), Aldi will remove all purchasing restrictions on fresh produce – including limits on tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.”
Asda and Morrisons have eased their rules slightly but still have some limits in place on certain products.
Asda has removed limits of three on cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries.
But shoppers wanting to get hold of tomatoes and peppers will still be limited to three each.
Asda said tomato and pepper stock levels should be back to normal within a couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, Morrisons has removed the limits of two on cucumbers, but limits of two remain on tomatoes, lettuce and peppers.
And Lidl said restrictions on all its products will be lifted by Monday.
Tesco is currently still limiting peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes to three per customer.
It comes weeks after several supermarkets started rationing certain fresh products and shoppers were faced with empty shelves at their local supermarkets.
The shortages are due to bad weather and transport issues in north Africa and Europe.
Tesco, Aldi and Lidl limited purchases of peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers to three items per person.
While Asda introduced restrictions on tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries.
Issues began in January as cold weather affected tomatoes ripening, followed by heavy rain, flooding and cancelled ferries, which impacted the volume of fruit and veg arriving into Britain.
Spain, one of Britain’s other major sources of stock, was also hit with bad weather and ferry journeys were axed.
Britain imports around 95% of its tomatoes and 90% of its lettuces, most from the affected region, during the winter months.
Producers also reported having to cut back on their use of greenhouses due to higher electricity prices.
It’s not the first time shoppers have been faced with empty supermarket shelves.
Previously in 2017, poor growing conditions in Europe – largely in Italy and Spain – meant Brits saw a lack of vegetable stock in their local shops.
There was also concern in 2018 that an onion shortage could occur because of hot weather damaging crops.
In the same year, the growth of peas was also impacted by hot weather.
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