There appears to be growing unrest among British consumers over shortages of everyday staples such as fruit and vegetables and the resulting spiralling prices for them - including peppers. It came after Therese Coffey, the Environment Secretary, suggested people struggling to afford their food bills could consider working more hours and instead of eating tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers they should try turnips.
Ms Coffey sparked some angry debate on social media after announcing that the shortages of fruit and vegetables was a temporary issue that should be resolved in two to four weeks. She also told MPs a “lot of people would be eating turnips right now” under a seasonal food model – rather than thinking about lettuce, tomatoes and similar produce – although she accepted consumers want a “year-round choice”.
Downing Street later stepped in to "clarify" her remarks, saying that she was setting out the importance of “celebrating” British produce when appearing to suggest that eating turnips could help avoid fruit and vegetable shortages in UK supermarkets. No 10 also rejected suggestions that Brexit was to blame for any shortages, instead pointing to the "poor weather in certain parts of southern Europe and north Africa".
