Therese Coffey made the comments when she was questioned by MPs in parliament on Thursday about food shortages.

Tory MP Selaine Saxby had suggested seasonal eating would solve the issue, saying: “The supermarkets are still importing far too many products for us and… actually we should be eating more seasonally and supporting our own British farmers.

“And if we were actually to move to a seasonal line of eating, many of these problems would be avoided… there are great food products available from local farmers at this time.”

Why Is There A Shortage Of Tomatoes And Other Fruit And Veg?

The UK government says it is mainly down to bad weather in Europe and Africa.

High electricity prices are also having an impact on food grown in greenhouses in the UK and the Netherlands.

Tesco, Aldi, Asda and Morrisons have all announced they are rationing salad ingredients for a few weeks.

Coffey replied: “It’s important to make sure that we cherish the specialisms that we have in this country.

“A lot of people would be eating turnips right now rather than thinking necessarily about aspects of lettuce and tomatoes and similar, but I’m conscious that consumers want a year-round choice and that is what our supermarkets, food producers and growers around the world try to satisfy.”

During the exchange, Coffey said the shortages would be a temporary issue that should be resolved in two to four weeks.

A shortage of tomatoes in UK supermarkets has widened to other fruit and vegetables due to a combination of bad weather and transport problems in Africa and Europe.

Some supermarkets have introduced customer limits on certain fresh produce, with photographs emerging of empty shelves.

Lib Dem Wera Hobhouse said Rishi Sunak should call an emergency Cobra meeting to respond to the “national emergency”.