A post on social media has sparked outrage after it said 'only English language is to be spoken” by staff in a Bay of Plenty supermarket.

Posted on a Papamoa social media group, the picture shows a notice board sign that has been put up by the supermarket's management.

The sign says that only the English language is to be spoken in the supermarket, including the staffroom, shop floor and storeroom.

SunLive contacted Foodstuff NZ and in a statement they said the sign wasn't intended to be culturally offensive, instead it was meant to help form better communication between staff.

'Like many organisations we now have a huge diversity and cultural mix in our stores. Sometimes this can lead to communication issues," says North Island general manager Doug Cochrane.

'A sign was put up in an attempt to ask staff to communicate in a common language that everyone understands.

'Unfortunately the wording on the sign did not convey the true intention or sentiment and was removed immediately.

'The store team is working through better ways to deal with these sorts of issues.”