Turn your back for two weeks and all hell breaks loose. I too was “researched” by The Money Programme - I promise I didn’t use the word baron - and I can concur with the BSF chairman in that I was told the show would give a balanced view of the UK berry industry.

I’m glad I was on the other side of the world when it came out, and as I didn’t see it I am in no position to comment any further - unlike David Shapley on page 6.

But the results of our freshinfo poll this week make for interesting reading. A whopping 72 per cent of respondents believe short seasonal gaps should be left in the soft-fruit supply calendar, while only 24 per cent feel the extension of the season is generally the way to go.

It’s a tough one to call and if the same question were asked of consumers in the street they would probably come up with a similar response ratio. It’s in the same league as ‘do you buy British product ahead of imported alternatives?’ Most British consumers instinctively say they do, which shows through regularly in research, but far fewer actually carry their own perceived values into the store when they make their purchasing decisions.

Barren shelves or berry barons? There really is little choice and the accused in this case fall into a long and global line of producers in fresh produce and other categories who push boundaries to the tune of their paymasters.

Until a retailer experiments by taking produce off its shelves - and pigs fly out of the store windows - we’ll never know what the consumer really thinks.

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