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* UK food retailers tell customers to be considerate
* Letter published in national newspapers
* Social media awash with pictures of empty shelves
(Adds signatories, health secretary comments)
By James Davey
LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Britain's food retailers
appealed to shoppers on Sunday to stop panic buying during the
coronavirus outbreak, saying purchasing more than they need
would mean others will be left without.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents
supermarket groups, said retailers had come together to write to
their customers, calling on them to be considerate in the way
they shop.
The letter, signed by Tesco, Sainsbury's,
Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl, Coop, Waitrose, M&S
, Iceland, Ocado and Costcutter, was published
in adverts in national newspapers on Sunday.
"We understand your concerns but buying more than is needed
can sometimes mean that others will be left without. There is
enough for everyone if we all work together," the letter said.
Social media has been awash over the last week with pictures
of empty shelves in Britain's major supermarkets, with items
like dried pasta, toilet rolls and canned food particularly
sought after.
Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government
was confident that food supplies were secure, but everybody had
to act responsibly as part of a national effort.
"If you are buying food for instance and loo roll you buy
what you need, because there's an impact on others," he told
BBC's Andrew Marr programme on Sunday.
Trading in British supermarkets has been intense, with some
shop bosses saying it can only be compared to the pre-Christmas
rush.
Anecdotal evidence suggested activity had stepped-up further
since Thursday when Prime Minister Boris Johnson said those
showing even mild symptoms of having the virus should
self-isolate for at least seven days.
As of Saturday, 21 people had died after testing positive
for COVID-19 in Britain, health authorities said.
The food retailers said in the letter they were working
closely with government and suppliers to keep food moving
quickly through the system and making more deliveries to stores
to ensure shelves were stocked.
They also said retailers with online delivery and
click-and-collect services were running at full capacity.
Tesco Chairman John Allan said on Thursday it was unlikely
the retailer, which has a 27.2% share of the British grocery
market, would experience anything worse than "very short term,
temporary" shortages of certain products.
(Reporting by James Davey and Paul Sandle; Editing by Catherine
Evans and Edmund Blair)
