COMMUNITY GEARS UP TO FIGHT TOMATO CRISIS

Amid a crisis that may last up to four weeks, British Asians gear up with alternate options to run their kitchens amid tomato and vegetable shortages.

Shefali Saxena Tuesday 28th February 2023 11:52 EST
 
 

Britain’s supermarkets are facing a severe shortage of vegetables and salad items like tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, including some fruits, caused by ruined harvests by extreme weather abroad, disrupted travel routes, Brexit and high energy costs. Customers witnessed empty shelves at Tesco, Aldi, Asda and Morrisons, while Lidl also limited its sales of certain fruit and vegetables due to the shortage of fresh produce. 

A Lidl spokesperson told the BBC that "adverse weather conditions in Spain and Morocco" impacted the availability of certain salad items. Former Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King attributed this crisis of British food production to the hurt caused by a combination of the Government leaving producers at the mercy of high energy prices and Brexit shrinking its supply of workers. 

Meanwhile, Britain’s fruit and vegetable crisis could last up to four weeks, a former environment secretary has warned. National Farmers’ Union president Minette Batters said if the shortages persist, it will drive up food price inflation. Environment Secretary Therese Coffey suggested eating turnips instead of tomatoes, but both got sold out in stores within minutes. 

Tomato supplies are among the worst affected and are a matter of grave concern for the Asian community, with a vast majority who are vegetarians and vegans. The households typically cannot function without tomatoes in their food and curries, so Asian Voice reached out to businesses (shops, vendors and restaurants) and chefs to understand how this shortage of vegetables will impact them.   Local South Asian vegetable vendors across London and nearby boroughs, mentioned that their stocks would last up to four days. However, vendors in Kingsbury, London confirmed that they were already facing a shortage of tomatoes and vegetables.  Members of the community told the newsweekly that British Asians are resilient in overcoming any kind of crisis, therefore we can tackle the shortage with alternate options and careful planning. Some restaurants pre-empted this and have made alternate arrangements to beat the crisis while it lasts. 

The alternative for South Asian households

Rohini Bajekal, nutritionist and board-certified Lifestyle Medicine professional shared her two cents on the shortage and how Asians can cope with it. She said, “There has been a serious shortage in popular fruit and vegetables imported from abroad including peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries and tomatoes, with some supermarkets rationing the number of items a customer can buy. This is expected to last until at least May. According to the BRC, UK supermarkets import 95% of their tomatoes and 90% of their lettuce in December and typically the same proportions in March.”

She further said that the shortages have inflamed the cost-of-living crisis and overall anxiety levels among consumers. It is important to also consider alternatives in the short term. For example, eating more frozen fruit and vegetables can be cost-effective as well as often equally nutritious. For example, frozen blueberries have even been shown to have higher levels of antioxidants than fresh ones. Canned tomatoes and tomato paste are an alternative to fresh although these have also gone up in price. 

“This is a good time to try more seasonal produce such as cabbage, cauliflower, beetroot, carrots and spring greens which all feature in South Asian cooking. Herbs and spices are packed with antioxidants and are a great way to add more flavour to dishes. Choosing a variety of plants is also beneficial for our health, particularly our gut health, and immunity. While there are a number of reasons for these issues, poor weather conditions are a major cause. The climate crisis remains the most substantial risk to human health in the 21st century. Opting to eat more meals without meat and dairy is a powerful change we can all make to help to avert further disasters associated with the global climate emergency. Adopting a predominantly or exclusively plant-based diet will improve human health whilst supporting the food system to keep within planetary boundaries,” Rohini said. 

The Indian restaurant that pre-empted this scarcity

Roop Partap Choudhary of Colonel Saab Restaurant of Covent Garden spoke to us in detail about the ongoing crisis. According to him, the Hospitality and Catering industry is the largest consumer of edible commodities due to its magnitude of business. This is not only limited to hotels or restaurants but includes cruises, flights, hospitals, clubs, care homes, student halls, and Army messes to name a few.

Choudhary told Asian Voice, “As a fine dining Indian restaurant, Colonel Saab in this short span of 18 months has bagged 3 prestigious awards, huge accolades from the industry veterans, guests of this city and those who visit London for various reasons. Availability of fresh produce is key to bringing the best to the table, this not only helps our guests have a great dining experience, repeat business or referral but also ensures our guests are free from any kind of food-related aftereffects. Non-availability or scarcity of fresh produce would definitely have an adverse impact on the food industry, this means pressure to pick the best at a price. High demand and inadequate supply would lead to other market-related issues that are known to all.

“Procurement of commodities in crisis would increase operating and cost of production and leaner margins or bottom lines. This may also affect the operation hours and availability of dishes due to scarcity. If the situation is not mitigated immediately, restaurants may then plan for alternative menus that don't depend on fresh produce or have a complete menu planned in the interim till the situation eases out. For example, a butter chicken may get replaced by creamy chicken or korma or yoghurt-based gravies which don't rely on the vegetable market. 

“Colonel Saab's kitchen brigade had pre-empted this scarcity and had stocks in hand. Our chefs had organised the ingredients that can be used as a substitute without compromising on the quality and taste and most importantly the visual appeal. The alternatives for fresh tomatoes can be a canned tomato, tomato puree or concasse for gravies. If tomatoes are used for imparting sour taste, then multiple ingredients like dried Pomegranate, sweet tamarind, and dry mango powder can be used however it may not impart the right colour.”

He further added, “As we say in our industry, a guest savours the dish first with the eyes. However, there are certain dishes that possibly would have no alternates for example a fresh green salad, it may have to cut down on certain ingredients or add others to compensate in terms of its size, nutritional value, a good adjunct to the dishes and of course value for money. To sum it up, the hospitality industry, in particular, was the worst hit during the pandemic Covid and if this doesn't get sorted soon or in time it may have serious impacts on smaller-scale operators.”

Sharmistha Roy from Sharmi’s Kitchen told us, “Most vegetables we use are bought from Indian and Sri Lankan stores, which so far have enough stock available. If there is a shortage later, I may have to offer alternative dishes to my customers. 

“We froze tomatoes in bulk, and are now using them to cook, though wherever possible we are using substitutes. But with this shortage, the price of tomatoes keeps changing every other day, making it very difficult for us as a business, because we cannot change the price of the dish on the menu. Hopefully, this problem of shortage will resolve soon.”

Resilient sub-continent 

Praising the community for its resilient ways of living and surviving any adversity, Asma Khan, founder of Darjeeling Express London told Asian Voice, “We have a long tradition in the sub-continent of “Jugadu” - basically pivoting and finding innovative solutions! I think everyone cooking Indian food has had to substitute something at some point- it is almost something we do naturally in the east as traditionally you did not have easy access to fresh fruit and vegetables all day. Tomatoes do not need to be fresh- tinned tomatoes or tomato purée work well. I know frozen vegetables are looked down upon by many, but you can always add frozen peppers to your kadhai chicken and it would taste good!”

Aadit Shankar of Atcha UK told us, “Although vegetable shortages have recently become a hot topic in retail news, erratic supply and weekly price fluctuations for vegetables and other ingredients have been a theme of the year so far. Most recently, aside from tomatoes, we’ve found that the price of cauliflower and aubergine has increased to such an extent that we are looking at taking them off the menu – which is a huge shame because they are two of our most popular sabzis!”

Tomato Free Pizza

British grocery inflation hit a record 16.7% in the four weeks to Jan. 22, dealing another blow to consumers battling an escalating cost-of-living crisis, industry data showed. Food suppliers - from major players including Nestle (NESN.S) to smaller firms like Eosta - have raised prices amid tough negotiations with supermarkets, Reuters reported. Wholesalers and independent grocers, however, say there is plenty to go around if retailers are prepared to pay the extra cost.

Italian restaurants across Britain had to ration tomatoes, increase prices and in some cases remove the Pomodoro from their menus entirely as costs soared. The price of tomatoes increased as much as fourfold in the past year, from £5 a case to £20 a case, according to the Federazione Italian Cuochi UK (FIC UK), a chefs’ association. The price of canned tomatoes has doubled, it said, from £15 a case to £30. The cost of that Insalata staple iceberg lettuce has also soared, from around £7 a box to £22. Some restaurants in the UK had to market tomato-free pizza because of the ongoing crisis. Italian restaurants were forced to replace classic dishes with ‘white’ versions as the cost of their staple ingredient soared. 

However, The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs said that the UK had a “highly resilient food supply chain and is well equipped to deal with disruption”.

While the current scenario in the UK is expected to last only for a few weeks until the UK growing season begins and supermarkets find alternative sources of supply, according to the BRC. However, one UK producers' group has said shortages of some fruit and vegetables could last until May, reported BBC.


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