English Apples & Pears used the official start of the English apple season - on Tuesday - to highlight confusion amongst consumers trying to get their hands on homegrown fruit.
EAP research suggests that while 70 per cent of the UK population claims to actively seek out English apples when they are in season, 40 per cent of them do not know when the season begins, and 76 per cent of people in the UK believe Granny Smith apples are English.
Therefore, whilst consumers may believe they are buying English fruit, EAP said “too frequently they are walking away with imported varieties such as Granny Smith because they are confused by the name or simply do not know how to recognise an English apple in the shops”.
The campaign pointed out that additionally, there is confusion surrounding varieties such as Braeburn and Gala because imported supplies are on sale during the English season, resulting again in some consumers unwittingly “buying imported apples when they could have bought home-grown”.
Adrian Barlow, chief executive of EAP, had a simple message for consumers: “To ensure they are buying British, consumers should look for the Union Jack label on individual apples or the Union Jack logo on bags of apples,” he told TV and radio stations across the country.
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