Restaurants and shops have been accused of sparking a lettuce ration by bulk-buying the salad favourite amid a European vegetable shortage.
Supermarkets have limited the number of lettuces each customer can purchase in stores and iceberg, sweet gem and romaine varieties have been taken off sale completely by some online.
An extreme mix of drought followed by flooding and freezing conditions has severely affected growers in southern Spain, while poor conditions have also hit farmers in Italy, Greece and Turkey.
Dieter Lloyd, spokesman for the Leafy Salads Growers Association, said: “I think people are getting very surprised by the notion of rationing.
“But generally people don’t buy three heads of iceberg, or six packs of baby gem.
“The reason they are doing it (rationing) is because grocers, wholesalers, restaurants, and hospitality outlets were going to the retailers and buying trays of produce.
“The retailers are trying to curb that because they want the produce to be available for customers rather than the hospitality industry or the wholesale market or greengrocers.”
Experts have warned that if the weather does not improve in the coming weeks the problem may continue until April, with customers hit by price rises.
The lettuce shortage follows similar reductions in the supply of courgettes, while salad peppers, broccoli and cabbage supplies are also under pressure.