Sainsbury's
Sainsbury'sReuters

The Sainsbury’s supermarket chain issued a statement Monday morning apologizing for removing kosher products from one of its branches. It said: "We would like to apologize for any inconvenience or offencs caused. The decision was taken in one store only to move these chilled products to cold storage elsewhere in that store for a short period on Saturday as a precautionary measure during a demonstration close by."

The Sainsbury's store in Holborn, central London, removed the food from its shelves on Sunday afternoon after a manager feared that protesters picketing outside might attack the shop and damage food.

In one incident Saturday, anti-Israel activists trashed a Tesco store in Hodge Hill while waving Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flags, throwing produce on the ground and closing the establishment for several minutes. Likewise, protests outside Tesco stores in Greater Manchester, Blackburn and Luton were reported. 

The Sainsbury's move to empty the Kosher section was discovered that same Saturday by Jewish actor Colin Appleby, who posted a photo of the empty shelves on his Facebook page. Appleby was later told that "the staff member has been suitably chastised.” A Sainbury's spokesperson told Britain's Channel 4 News that the decision to remove kosher food was not centrally authorized.