Britain salad crisis: eat more turnips, UK minister says
- Disrupted harvests in Europe and Africa hit supplies of fruit and vegetables in Britain
- UK minister in charge of food supply said shortages could last up to a month
A UK government minister suggested people eat more turnips after a shortage of fruit and vegetables saw some supermarkets set limits on customer purchases.
The shortages have been blamed on weather in southern Europe and north Africa.
Environment Secretary Therese Coffey told lawmakers the shortages were temporary and likely to be resolved within two to four weeks.
She said a good alternative to the food items in short supply might come in the form of local seasonal produce such as turnips.
“It’s important to make sure that we cherish the specialisms that we have in this country,” she said in response to a question in parliament on Thursday.
“A lot of people would be eating turnips right now rather than thinking necessarily about aspects of lettuce and tomatoes and similar, but I’m conscious that consumers want a year-round choice and that is what our supermarkets, food producers and growers around the world try to satisfy,” she said.