Tesco has extended its 'wonky veg' Perfecty Imperfect range into fruit. Working with its partner suppliers, the group has extended its retail specifications of strawberries and apples so that it can offer Class II products to customers at value prices.
The extension of the scheme - which launched with potatoes and parsnips - means that the UK's leading grocery retailer is now taking 95 per cent of its suppliers' strawberries and 97 per cent of its British apple growers' crops.
Matt Simister, commercial director for fresh food and commodities at Tesco, said: 'The work doesn't stop here though. We have experienced high levels of waste in-store on the parsnips in particular, and therefore need to continually develop our specifications so that we minimise the food that is wasted in any part of the chain.
'At the same time, we are then developing sustainable relationships between partner suppliers so that what customers won't pick up in-store can hopefully find a home in the food chain when it needs one - for example, via mashing, in the case of our lower grade potatoes, or juicing, in the case of our lower grade apples.
'We've already facilitated the up-ake of 35 tonnes per week from our potato partner Branston into our ready meals partner Samworth Brothers, and we're hopeful that the establishing of a juicing relationship with Scripps, our key grower of British apples, will utilise the remaining two per cent of the edible crop.'
