New flour finder website launched

In response, the milling industry has published an online map showing where shoppers can buy commercial-sized bags of flour of more than three kilogrammes from wholesalers.

Since the coronavirus lock-down, a shortage of smaller 1.5kg-3kg bags on supermarket shelves has led to fears about supplies of flour nationally,” said Alex Waugh, director general of the National Association of British and Irish Millers (nabim).

“The problem, with regard to home-baking flour, is that ordinarily the market share is tiny – just 4 per cent, compared to the commercial sector.”

He added that there was no shortage of flour and that the new service allows consumers to get the supplies they want.

Nabim has also established an early-warning system allowing millers to flag-up potential supply problems before they become critical.