SHOPPERS searching for traffic-light packs of peppers have been left empty handed due to a shortage of yellow peppers.
Tesco, the UK’s biggest retailer, is no longer stocking yellow peppers after supply challenges caused by warmer weather abroad followed by a cold snaps.
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The majority of Tesco’s stores are out of stock and it is impossible to buy yellow peppers online from Tesco.
As an alternative, Tesco is now selling its three-packs of peppers with two reds and one green although shoppers have been left furious by the substitution.
Lucy Carter, 38, from Sudbury, Suffolk, said: “At first I thought I’d gone colour blind.
“No one likes green peppers, my kids think the red ones are too sweet.
“The yellow ones were perfect. I hope they get it sorted soon or our salads will never be the same.”
Shoppers said the decision to remove them from sale without an explanation was “bizarre”.
Industry sources said that yellow peppers had been hit by a double whammy as crop production had declined and the cooler weather had led to longer growth times.
Andrew Opie, director of food & sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Yellow peppers have been affected by lower production in some key growing regions.
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“Retailers are well versed at managing supply chains and any disruption, and will take all necessary precautions to ensure consumers aren’t unduly affected by short term issues.”
Tesco rival Sainsbury’s still stocks yellow peppers, as does Asda and Morrisons online, suggesting it is a problem with Britain’s biggest supermarket’s supplier.
Supermarkets have been repeatedly warned of low supplies of salad ingredients including cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes as a number of British growers have quit the industry due to rising costs.
Lea Valley – which produces around three quarters of the UK’s cucumbers and salads – has seen production halve in the past year as growers find it too expensive to heat greenhouses.
Green peppers are typically unripe regular peppers, but yellow, orange and red peppers are genetically different to each other.
Red peppers are typically more expensive because they take longer to grow as they need to sit on the vine for longer and have at least twice as much vitamin C in them than green ones.
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