A new report by UK consumer watchdog Which? has claimed that standard supermarket strawberries taste as good as organic and premium varieties.
Testers working on behalf of Which? Online reportedly found 'no overall difference in taste or appearance' between organic, standard and premium strawberries sold at six of the UK's leading supermarkets – Asda, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose.
However, the report stated that organic strawberries cost twice as much as standard varieties and that premium punnets cost almost three times as much.
Bucking the trend, nine out of ten tasters said they preferred Asda's organic strawberries to its standard range.
But of the Marks & Spencer varieties sampled, tasters said they preferred non-organic M&S Juicy British Strawberries to the store’s organic version of the fruit.
With the Wimbledon tennis championships due to start in London today, retailers are preparing to supply shoppers with huge volumes of the fruit, which has become a regular fixture not only at the event itself but also in summer shopping baskets.
Which? Online editor Jess Ross said the results of the survey were somewhat surprising: 'It's that exciting time of year when all eyes are on Centre Court and everyone's serving strawberries,' she said. 'In our taste tests we were surprised to find out that there wasn't any difference in taste or appearance between the organic, premium and standard varieties – apart from the price.'
