Canadian herring roe has returned to Waitrose following a temporary disappearance from shelves because of soaring demand.

News of the return of the product comes after Waitrose Sales and Support told one user on the online Waitrose Forum that the product had been discontinued. “Inevitably slowselling lines are sometimes deleted to permit change and improvement to our overall range,” the post stated.

The Forum user said the roe was one of the few protein- rich foods that a friend with cancer of the pharynx could eat.

However, a Waitrose spokeswoman denied the product had been delisted. “Demand has been exceptional this year and very simply we exhausted all the stock we had purchased,” she added.

New season roe was expected to be made available to shoppers from 24 November.