Earlier this month it was reported that the Russian invasion of the Ukraine has impacted UK shopping trolleys, after major UK supermarkets Waitrose and Morrisons limited sales of cooking oil to two per person.

Given that the majority of the UK’s sunflower oil is sourced from the Ukraine, the devastating events in the country have naturally halted its flow. This has created a scramble for alternative sources of vegetable oils – not only for consumers but for crisp and chip manufacturers too. Tesco is the latest grocery store to restrict shoppers in their purchases of cooking oil, albeit to three per customer – one more than the other supermarkets.

According to the BBC, Tom Holder from the British Retail Consortium has said that the restrictions are a temporary measure “to ensure availability for everyone,” adding that “retailers are working with suppliers to ramp up production of alternative cooking oils, to minimise the impact on consumers.”