Cornflour starts to vanish from supermarket shelves over low demand

Cornflour has started to disappear from supermarket shelves, leaving some customers up in arms.

UK supermarket giant Tesco revealed that the product had been “discontinued” due to diminishing demand.

The shortage was revealed after a disgruntled customer took to social media to complain about the absence of the starch.

A spokesman for Tesco responded by saying: “Cornflour has been discontinued because of low customer demand I'm afraid.”

This prompted outrage on the internet forum Mumsnet, with users saying that although they often did not buy the product more than once every six months, it was still an essential part of their food cupboard.

But after customers criticised Tesco, the supermarket giant clarified the situation, announcing that it had not completely discontinued cornflour and promised to attempt to improve availability across its more than 4,000 stores.

Cornflour is often used to thicken liquid-based foods such as gravies, soups, casseroles and custards. The fine texture of the gluten-free starch means it is less likely to form in lumps in comparison to ordinary flour.

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Another appealing attribute is that cornflour is flavourless, so it won't taint the taste of your dishes.

The product is also a popular choice when looking to add crispiness to meat dishes such as fried chicken.

Cornflour is created by removing the skin and germ from the corn, before the starchy liquid is extracted and dried. It is then finely ground to make the cornflour shoppers pick up off the shelves.

Cornflour can also be used when baking sweet treats, such as shortbread. It helps give it a light texture and a “melt in the mouth” type quality.

Cornflour joins eggs as the latest food item to suffer shortages.

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Shoppers buying eggs have been faced with empty shelves and told to ration purchases as a shortage grips the UK. Customers at Sainsbury’s and Tesco have turned up to stores to find eggs out of stock, while at least one Lidl branch has told shoppers they can only buy three boxes at a time.

Wetherspoons is also reportedly serving full English breakfasts without eggs as it grapples with supply issues.

An industry body said it had warned months ago there would be shortages if producers were not paid a “fair price”.

A bird flu outbreak has also resulted in laying hens being culled, the British Free Range Egg Producers Association added.

Shoppers have posted images of empty shelves or notices about supply issues affecting egg stocks in stores.

A Sainsbury’s customer tweeted a picture of a sign apologising for “any inconvenience” caused by the availability of eggs in a store.