ocado has warned of food shortages

Online supermarket Ocado has warned customers that certain products may be in short supply over the coming weeks, as more and more of its workforce is forced to self-isolate.

Ocado, which recently launched a partnership with UK supermarket Marks and Spencer last year, has reduced the amount of product lines it is running on its website as a result of the circumstances brought about by the vicious new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Staff absences across the supply chain may lead to an increase in product substitutions for a small number of customers, as some suppliers consolidate their offering to maintain output,” a spokesperson from Ocado told the BBC.

Ocado, like most other online food delivery services, often substitute an unavailable item with a similar product. Of course, you don’t have to accept the substitution, but Ocado makes it clear on its website that you cannot return any substitutions to your driver that you have touched due to the risk of infection.

Demand for food deliveries has massively increased since the UK was plunged into lockdown in March last year and last week's announcement of a third lockdown in England saw demand soar even higher. The virtual queues on websites of the UK's major supermarkets made a comeback just hours after PM Boris Johnson addressed the nation on 5 January 2021.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and we are working hard to mitigate any impact,” Ocado told its customers. It has, however, reaffirmed that there is plenty of food still available.

Some customers were not satisfied by the apology though, and took to Twitter to vent their frustrations.