Supermarkets tell Britishers not to panic after survival kit advisory

Retailers in the UK on Wednesday warned the public not to bulk-buy items after the government advised people to have three days’ worth of tinned food and water in case of an emergency. “While it is sensible to have some additional food at home, most households will find they already have sufficient non-perishables sitting in the cupboard,” said Andrew Opie from the British Retail Consortium, which represents supermarkets and other retailers, FT reported.

The government has launched a ‘Prepare’ website. "Consider what supplies you and your household might need during an emergency lasting a few days, such as a power cut or water outage, or situations where you are advised to stay at home or to leave your home for safety reasons," the website says.

What the 'Prepare' website says


The items for the household survival kit that the website recommends are .battery or wind-up torch; portable power bank for charging mobile phone; wind-up radio to get updates during a power cut; spare batteries for torches and radio and a backup battery for any medical equipment; a first aid kit; hand sanitiser; wet wipes for hygiene purposes when the water is off; bottled water; non-perishable food that doesn’t need cooking, such as ready-to-eat tinned meat, fruit or vegetables (and a tin opener); and baby supplies.

The website says there is no standard figure for the quantity of water to be stored as emergencies can vary in duration and people use different amounts. It says a minimum of 2.5-3 litres of drinking water per person per day is recommended but 10 litres per person per day will make you more comfortable by also providing for basic cooking and hygiene needs. Additional water might be needed to make up baby formula, for medical devices and for pets, the website says. The website goes on to add that rather than buying all the items at once, you could just add to your emergency kit when you are able and build it up over time.

"Emergencies happen every day in the UK and across the world," the website says, describing the types of emergencies. "They can be caused by severe weather or other natural hazards, by deliberate actions, or as a result of accidents or infrastructure failure. They can be events that happen quickly and are over in a few hours, or they can develop and continue over the course of several days, months, or sometimes even longer."

Antimicrobial resistance, snow and ice, cyber outages, droughts, fires in the home, flooding, hazardous substance and radiation exposure,
hot weather and heat waves, and infectious disease outbreaks are some of the hazards that can trigger an emergency, as per the website.

Panic buying
Retailers are keen to avoid a repetition of the early days of the pandemic, when shoppers descended on UK supermarkets to stockpile everyday essentials from lavatory rolls to canned meat, pasta and rice, leaving shelves empty while grocery chains scrambled to replenish the produce, the FT report says. This was because supermarkets operate a finely tuned “just in time” supply chain model whereby fresh food cannot be stored for more than a few days and there is not enough warehouse or store space to hold large quantities of non-perishable goods. The surge in demand prompted supermarket chains to ration items and manufacturers and distributors to find ways to increase supply.

Opie, director of Food and Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, told MailOnline: “Retailers did an excellent job ensuring the country had access to food and other necessities throughout the pandemic, and we are confident they will rise to future challenges."

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, who is behind this initiative, says the measures are "about sensible safeguards, not stockpiling" and the website is there to offer "practical information for households to make those preparations" for threats listed on the government's national risk register. Dowden's initiative follows research which shows that more than 40 per cent of people do not have three days’ supplies of non-perishable food and water. Just 15 per cent of people have a kit of essential supplies, according to the poll of 1,009 adults, with the results published on Wednesday.

As per a report in The Telegraph, Dowden thinks the British “stiff upper lip” mentality has made it unusual for a UK minister to talk about resilience when compared with the openness of other countries.

A Daily Mail report quoted an owner of a survivalist shop who insisted stocking up is 'common sense' amid panic buyers flocking to the emergency 'prepper'. The report says Leigh Price has noticed a steady increase in customers heading to his shop The Bug Out, in Wales, since the government launched the website. Price said some of the influx of people are panic buying with many worrying about whether they can 'live as normal as possible' when 'disaster strikes'.