Lettuce panic: Now supermarkets are rationing iceberg lettuce and broccoli

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Planning on stocking up on vegetables for your next weekly shop?

Hopefully you don't need more than three iceberg lettuces – because Tesco has now rationed customers per visit, due to poor growing conditions in Europe causing a shortage in stores.

Signs have been sent to all Tesco stores to notify customers, apologising for any inconvenience.

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A Tesco spokesperson said: "Due to bad weather conditions in Spain, we are experiencing some availability issues, but are working with our suppliers to resolve them as quickly as possible."

And that's just the tip of the iceberg (sorry). Morrisons supermarkets have put in place a three-per-person limit on broccoli, too.

A triple whammy of floods, snow and storms have taken their toll in southern Spain, where many of Britain's vegetables are sourced during the winter months. The problem started with aubergine, spinach and courgettes, but satsuma fans beware: citrus fruits may too be affected.

Britain imports around 50 per cent of its vegetables and 90 per cent of its fruit.

And while you may think three per person seems plenty, many aggrieved shoppers have been posting pictures of empty shelves, barren of veg.

https://twitter.com/lukeyboy1865/status/823602705180557312

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A Morrisons spokesman told the Daily Mail it had introduced a cap to prevent local businesses and restaurateurs buying up its stock.

Elsewhere, the Co-op said it was not experiencing shortages, though it is asking customers to be considerate of others when buying affected varieties. So no hoarding courgettes.

It has noted a surge in sales for home-grown greens due to the poor weather in Europe affecting foreign vegetables too. Sales of curly kale are up 130 per cent on the same period for last year, while sales of sliced spring greens are up 120 per cent.