Mumsnet users share their ‘hamster lists’ as they stock up on basics including Calpol, tins of tuna and wine ahead of a potential no-deal Brexit
- Parents stocking up on non-perishables as well as medication and nappies
- One said she doesn’t think no-deal will be that bad but she’s still loading up
- She fears that nervous shoppers will panic and empty shelves of local shops
- Comes despite assurances that day to day food need would not be affected
Parents who fear panic-buying in the event of a Brexit that does not include a trade deal with the EU are hoarding non-perishables.
Mumsnet users have shared so-called hamster lists detailing the food they are stocking up on.
Even people who do not fear that a ‘no-deal’ exit from the bloc are filling their cupboards in case those who are scared empty their local supermarket shelves.
It comes after after a former adviser to environment secretary Michael Gove warned some food imports, including seasonal fruits, could be affected.
Mumsnet users say they are stocking up on tinned food as they fear panic buying might set in if there’s a no-deal Brexit (file photo)
Though he reassured the public that they would not go without the food they need, mothers are stocking up on pasta, baked beans and tinned fruit.
One user wrote on the parenting site: ‘I have bought extra pasta, jars, baked beans, long-life milk, noodles, tinned fruit and veg, flour and stuff to bake bread, and the kids favourite cereals so that we can ride the first few weeks without having to do a shop. I personally don’t think that the shortage will be hugely significant or long term, but there will be last minute panic and I don’t want to be part of it.’
Another said she was ‘stocking up’ on tune, tomatoes and bread mix as another said she was loading up on ‘nappies, Calpol, formula, toiletries, paracetamol etc’.
Some users believe that it is prudent to fill up on goods despite a former adviser to Michael Gove saying that weekly food needs will not be affected (file photo)
One person worried that a no-deal Brexit would mean no soft fruit in winter, while another suggested swapping avocado for pumpkin and butternut squash as they stay fresh for a year if the skin is not damaged.
But one was more worried about wine, writing that she was ‘ensuring plentiful supplies of wine and am keeping my Christmas gin for emergencies’.
Mumsnet users have been posting to tell each other about the food and other items they are currently stocking up on
Mr Gove’s former adviser, James Starkie, said that although nobody would go without the food they need day to day, seasonal foods could be affected.
He resigned in protest over Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposed deal with the bloc, saying it was ‘not without challenges’.
Pictured: Disruption at Dover in 2016. A former adviser to Michael Gove says that seasonal fruit availability could be affected if traffic stacks up like this after a no-deal Brexit
However he branded rumours that the UK could run out of clean water as ‘project fear’, referencing a term used to discredit some warnings issued by those who campaigned to remain in the EU.
Appearing on BBC Radio 4 show The Week in Westminster, he said of May’s deal: ‘It’s not without challenges and I think it’s right that the government, particularly through the technical notices last summer, lets businesses and the public know that these are some of the things that we will have to deal with in a no-deal scenario.’
He was asked whether there could be shortages of food if there are delays at Dover.
Mr Starkie replied: ‘I think that it’s possible that certain types of food that are seasonable and come directly from the Continent could be impacted to a limited degree.
‘What I don’t think is going to happen is that in any way people are not going to be able to get the food they need on a weekly basis and that there will be a shortage of food in that way.’