SHOPPERS are being met with empty shelves this winter as food shortages continue across the country.
Poor pay, rising costs and a lack of a reliable workforce have left Britain’s food supply stretched.
Supermarkets have had to implement buying restrictions to make it fairer for shoppers as supply becomes shorter.
And with the cost of living rising, food prices are also on the up.
Not only that, but an outbreak of avian flu has sparked shortages of eggs, turkeys and geese.
Bird flu has killed half of free-range turkeys, pushing up prices and causing farmers to warn of shortages in shops.
A massive 600,000 of the 1.3million free range birds have been lost, according to the British Poultry Council, so if you prefer that type of bird it may be harder to find.
As some shoppers won’t be able to get free-range birds, then it could mean there’s more competition for fresh ones.
Retailers have also been given permission by the department for environment, food and rural affairs to kill birds earlier than usual and then thaw them out in the run up to Christmas.
The news also follows the announcement that there will be no geese for shoppers this Christmas after the entire flock had been lost.
On top of that, secretary of the Lea Valley Growers Association, Lee Stiles, told The Sun that “we are sleepwalking into a food crisis tunnel without any light at the end”.
Supermarkets face shortages of aubergine, cucumber, peppers and tomatoes as “salad growers face their greatest threat since the 1950s,” according to Mr Stiles.
The crisis in food has even led some to warn that the British cucumber industry may not survive.
However, we checked online for what is in stock – the majority of vegetables are currently showing as available, but in store options can vary of course.
But customers have complained about the quality of cucumbers as sell by dates were scrapped this summer.
Of course, stock can vary for all supermarkets and we’re still a few weeks away from Christmas so some stores might only just be bringing in turkeys.
Supermarkets currently appear to have no restrictions on turkeys.
Here’s what supermarket rules are in place right now.
Asda
Asda has a limit on eggs, allowing customers to purchase two boxes per shop – the move came in last month.
It isn’t seeing any shortages of other products though.
When we has a look online, the majority of eggs were out of stock, although this could be different in store.
Some people were complaining on Twitter that they could not find any cucumbers in store.
Asda has also placed a limit on the number of items shoppers can buy from its budget range.
Customers can buy no more than three of the same item from the Just Essentials range, both online and in store.
But there is no limit on the overall number of items you can buy.
There also doesn’t appear to be any limit on fresh produce.
Morrisons
Morrisons also has restrictions on eggs – two boxes per customer, online and in store.
The supermarket implemented the change in November following shortages.
The supermarket is also selling frozen turkeys.
When we checked online, Morrisons has lots of eggs in stock.
While it has lots of fresh turkey in stock online, there aren’t any frozen free range birds currently.
A Morrisons spokesperson said: “2022 is proving to be a challenging season for British turkey suppliers.
“By working closely with our trusted suppliers, we are confident we can meet customer demand for fresh turkeys this year.”
There also doesn’t appear to be any limit on fresh produce.
Tesco
Similar to other stores, Tesco has limits on the amount of eggs you can buy – capping it at three boxes per customer, which was also introduced in November.
The cap is in store and online.
The supermarket introduced the limit as it works with suppliers to resolve the issue.
When we checked online, there were hardly any eggs in stock, but there were plenty of turkeys.
There also doesn’t appear to be any limit on fresh produce.
Aldi
Aldi will be selling previously frozen turkeys that have been thawed – so not technically fresh – following government and industry advice.
Aldi also has eggs in stock online but also has a limit on the amount you can buy in store and online, capping it at three packs per customer.
Frozen turkeys are in stock online but there are no chilled ones – although it does say that stock is “coming soon” on Aldi’s website.
There also doesn’t appear to be any limit on fresh produce.
Lidl
Lidl is believed to be selling both fresh and frozen turkeys this year.
You can’t order groceries online at Lidl, so we couldn’t tell if they were in stock.
It’s worth checking in store as to what they currently have and what they plan on ordering.
Lidl also introduced a three-box egg limit in the middle of November – shoppers won’t be able to buy any more than this per shop.
There also doesn’t appear to be any limit on fresh produce.
Sainsbury’s
There are no food restrictions in place but it is working with suppliers to ensure that it provides enough turkeys for customers.
There will be frozen turkeys sold, which make up a big proportion of what it sells.
When we checked online, Sainsbury’s has lots of eggs in stock.
The supermarket also has turkey in stock online – though this could differ in store.
There also doesn’t appear to be any limit on fresh produce.
Marks & Spencer
M&S has egg limits too – shoppers can only buy two packs each time.
This limit came in in November.
We’ve also asked if M&S is going to be selling frozen turkeys only this Christmas and will update the piece once we know more.
We also asked if it has limits on any other products.
There also doesn’t appear to be any limit on fresh produce.
