Iceland store

[mac]

Just been staying with people in spain and while there went in local iceland,on the shelves they had lettuce from the UK and tomatoes from poland.Why are they moving things about so much when they grow them in spain.

 

[WestCoast]

I think the Iceland's in Spain are franchises. I presume they use the same distribution channels as the UK Stores, where the food is brought in from the warehouse in the UK. So, they have little choice because they are reliant upon whatever Iceland in the UK buys.

If you want to buy Spanish produce in Spain, don't go to Iceland! Go to a Spanish supermarket, such as Mercadona. Even better, they have great local markets even in so called tourist places.

Iceland are very much catering for British people in Spain. I realise there are other 'foreign' supermarkets in Spain such as Lidl and Aldi (German), and Carrefour (French) but they have many more stores and are registered in Spain, thus selling more local produce, as they are catering more for the Spanish market (rather than ex-pats or holidaymakers).

 

[wintonian]

There is a Guardian article listing some examples of food miles.

 

[mac]

the folks i stay with are english and buy nearly everything from the markets,but go to iceland just for the odd little thing

 

[WestCoast]

the folks i stay with are english and buy nearly everything from the markets,but go to iceland just for the odd little thing

If you want the odd 'home comfort' that you can't easily get hold of in Spain, then I agree it's handy. However, I'd never buy anything else there.