Another week, another cobbled-together scandal breaks. This time around, farmers’ markets find themselves in the firing line for not actually doing what it says on their tin.

I don’t frequent farmers’ markets, living as I do in south London. I have my personal misgivings about them, but I’m not entirely against all that they stand for.

I do know there are around 550 such markets spread across the UK with an estimated income of more than £220 million a year. Which of course offers a rather large pot for any unscrupulous trader to have a shot at, let alone the national media.

And while the Farma co-operative certifies around 170 of UK farmers’ markets, using an independent inspection body, and insists that produce must be sourced from within a 30-mile radius - 100 miles for London markets - even my dodgy arithmetic tells me that leaves 380 markets outside of that rigid system.

I’d hazard an educated guess that those markets do not always enforce the same standards and ideals, and various sources have told FPJ over time that there is fairly significant slack in the Farma system.

No sector is squeaky clean, but this retail genre - which has sprung up to cater for the supposedly socially and environmentally aware foodie generation - surely has nowhere to hide if it fails to uphold the values of its customers.