On my fortnightly trawl round the retailers, this time there were one or two things to watch out for.

While the 28p lemon has hit the headlines in the media, and importers and wholesalers certainly confirm that there will be a shortage of the fruit for some weeks, this does not appear to have dislocated supplies altogether. There was plenty of loose and netted fruit available, despite recent strikes on both sides of the Channel.

The other thing to watch out for, and potentially more worrying - at least if you are a tomato grower - was the news from the US that sales of this basic salad fruit have dropped off alarmingly after a food scare. Fortunately, the news does not seem to have unjustly percolated to our side of the Atlantic. Fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, with the imminent arrival of Wimbledon Fortnight, soft-fruit sales are in full swing. Marks & Spencer has come up with what must be the ultimate picnic hamper pack - a 250g clear tub filled with fruit, with a portion of fresh cream built into the top as part of the container, at £2.99.

It is the time when fresh-cut fruit salad comes into its own for the same convenient reason, also offering a chance to present something new, rather than simply fill a container with a chopped-up selection.

Asda is championing kiwifruit, slicing it into attractive peeled discs, together with a fork for easy eating. The pack also shows off the delicate green flesh to perfection.

Fruit aside, the choice of different lettuce on offer is now amazing in terms of shape, colour and taste. However, Aldi has gone back to basics with a 200g bag at 79p, grown in Gloucester, simply described as ‘Summer Lettuce’.

I am all for good clear messages telling consumers what is going on in the horticultural world, and in the same store there was a boldly written sign advising that the Spanish cherry crop, due to heavy rains, was facing a delayed start.

This style of informative message is also cropping up more and more at Waitrose where, in its Cook’s Ingredients range, growing parsley is being given a lift. The pots, priced at £1.49, certainly extol the customer to use more and, as the message says, develop a taste for parsley butter at the same time.

I also uncovered what might be considered a bit of a mystery. Tesco’s range of exotics continues to expand, and now includes longkong from Thailand, at 99p for 150g. I must confess to it being a fruit with which I am hardly familiar, so it is a fair assessment to say customers will take some time to recognise it.

Described as having a pomelo taste, it appears to be the same as a fruit listed in the Re:fresh Directory, but referred to as a longan, with the other alternative name being a longyen. I imagine it fills a gap on the shelves when lychees are in short supply.

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