Tesco rations iceberg lettuce purchases on supply crunch

LONDON (Reuters) - Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket, said on Friday it is rationing shoppers to three iceberg lettuces per visit, blaming poor growing conditions in Spain for a shortage in supply.

Flooding in Spain late last year damaged crops and cold weather last month further dented production. The limited supply of iceberg lettuces follows an ongoing shortage of courgettes in Britain. Broccoli has also suffered from limited availability.

"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," said a Tesco spokesman.

"To make sure customers don't miss out, we are asking them to limit the number of iceberg lettuces they buy to three," he said.

The rationing is principally aimed at catering firms buying up available stock rather than regular shoppers.

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Alistair Smout)