I have often heard it said that UK multiples have little to learn from their US counterparts when it comes to retailing fresh produce. However, following my recent visit to Florida, I have a feeling that most of these naysayers are still very envious of the scale of some of the largest stores in the US. These dwarf our own, with far wider aisles and a lot more display space devoted to fruit and vegetables.

In terms of choice, one of the first things to catch the eye is the growth of prepared lines, which in the US has spread far beyond bagged salads and fresh-cut fruit to snack packs and complete desserts.

While bananas are popular on both sides of the pond, the choice in the US includes full-sized red varieties - in this instance, provided by Ecuador.

The time when choice of apples in the US was inevitably limited to Red and Golden Delicious is a distant memory, with Braeburn, Gala, Granny Smith and Pink Lady now permanently on the shelf. Today, it is possible to buy four grape-flavoured Fuji under the Grapple brand in a moulded tray pack for $5.90 (£4.21), marketed from Wenatchee.

While Florida proudly and justly proclaims itself to be the citrus state, imports still creep in, with Jaffa-branded easy peelers from Israel on display along with uglifruit from Jamaica, although the latter is trademarked ‘Unique’ and priced at $1.49/lb (£1/lb).

For something different in green vegetables, turnip greens, collards and rappine - a type of leafy broccoli sold in bunches for $2.99 (£2.10) - were available.

Brown onions are described as yellow in the US, while in the mini veg luxury range, there were nets of flat Cipoline onions at $2.29 (£1.63) for six grown in Gilray, California - the garlic capital of the world.

Tomatilos form part of the salad range, while some varieties of tomato come waxed, making them indistinguishable from a plastic saver to preserve tomato shelf life, which joined the ranks of pineapple and apple corers on the same shelf. As an aside, this product was designed in the US and made in China.

Things are also still economically tough on the other side of the pond, judging by the number of special offers - three 1lb cartons of Florida strawberries, for example, for $5 (£3.57).

At the other end of the luxury scale were grape tomatoes sold under the sub-brand of Cherry Berries.

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