New Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Aldi and Lidl 'ban' on 21 items

Wrap wants a ban on 21 items including tomatoes, apples, potatoes, bananas and carrots at Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Aldi and Lidl.

Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Aldi and Lidl have been told to introduce a new "ban" affecting a string of popular items. Wrap wants a ban on 21 items including tomatoes, apples, potatoes, bananas and carrots at Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Aldi and Lidl.

Supermarkets should be banned from selling fresh produce such as bananas, apples and potatoes in plastic packaging so we can go back to shopping “like our nan”, according to the influential anti-waste charity Wrap. It wants the new Labour Party government to ban packaging on 21 fruit and vegetables by 2030.

Harriet Lamb, Wrap’s chief executive, conceded “this will be hard” for British shoppers schooled to buy fruit and veg in packets, adding that any ban would be “one of the biggest changes in the retail landscape in a while”. Lamb urged people to shop “like our nan back in the day when everyone chose what they wanted in the grocery store”.

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Companies needed to make it easy for shoppers to make price comparisons and weigh produce, she said, but the “final step in the dance is the regulation with a timeline, creating a level playing field and a mandate to change”. In a statement, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “This government is committed to cleaning up Britain and cracking down on plastic waste. We will roll out extended producer responsibility [a new packaging tax] to incentivise businesses to cut plastic packaging and the deposit return scheme to incentivise consumers to recycle.”

The plastic packaging ban hitlist includes everything from Apples,Aubergines and Avocados to Bananas, Broccoli, Cabbages, Carrots and Garlic. Ginger, Lemons, Limes, Mangos and Onions could also be impacted alongside Oranges, Parsnips, Pears and Peppers.

Potatoes, Salad tomatoes, Squash and Swede complete the list of targeted items from the charity, too.