UK chefs introduce tomato free pizza due to shortages
The government has blamed bad weather in southern Europe and north Africa affecting harvests for the shortages
Some restaurants in the UK are having to ration tomatoes, increase prices or remove them from the menu altogether as a result of nationwide shortages, according to reports from The Guardian.
The price of tomatoes in the UK has quadrupled in the last year from £5 a case to £20 a case. This is according to research from the Federazione Italiana Cuochi UK (FIC UK).
The FIC also found that the price of canned tomatoes had doubled from £15 a case to £30 a case and the price of iceberg lettuce was up from £7 a box to £22 a box.
According to the FIC some restaurants are moving away from having tomatoes on their pizza and are instead using more white sauces as a replacement.
This news follows reports from last week that certain supermarkets in the UK were putting a limit on the number of tomatoes a customer can buy due to shortages.
The government has blamed bad weather in southern Europe and north Africa affecting harvests for the shortages.
High electricity prices have also affected supplies of produce grown in greenhouses in Britain and the Netherlands.
Enzo Oliveri, president of FIC UK, told The Guardian:“I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel but because there’s a shortage everywhere, there’s no tomatoes coming from any place.”