Fruit and Veg: Expert explains lack of salad in supermarkets

The NHS credits fruit and vegetables as being a great source of vitamins, minerals and fibre, and an important part of a balanced diet for children and adults.

However, shoppers are struggling to get their hands on their favourites, with some supermarkets now limiting the number of items customers can buy.

Carol Wagstaff, Professor of Crop Quality for Health at the University of Reading, has explained why this is and what impact climate change has on the role of food production.

Professor Wagstaff commented: “Many of our retailers and food service providers are struggling to meet orders and consumer demand for crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and broccoli.

“Poor weather in Spain - which has seen snow storms, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms recently - is the underlying cause of these shortages. Crops are sown weeks and months in advance with growers having to predict how long they will take to reach harvest maturity.

“When unseasonably cold or wet weather strikes, the plants simply slow down – or in some cases are killed by frosts and floods.

“Climate change is causing an increased frequency of extreme weather events which will make our supply of fresh food more vulnerable.

“Although it would be good to grow more of our food in the UK, we have to recognise that to produce crops out of season requires high energy for additional heating and artificial lighting of glasshouses and polytunnels – and we would need to be confident that this comes from renewable sources to avoid simply adding to the challenges of climate change.

“If we only eat vegetables that are in season, then at this time of year we would really struggle to eat the five-a-day that we need as part of a healthy diet,” Professor Wagstaff added.