By all accounts it seems as if British Tomato Week has really made its presence felt. Certainly the product in all its shapes, tastes, forms and even colours has been extolled in the national press - an exercise which has hopefully helped explain the amazing selection available to consumers.

Indeed the category has grown so large and complex, using so many different descriptions on the shelf embracing potential usage and flavour, that I believe it has been in real danger of confusing customers. I’m told there are more than 150 different types of packs and specifications on-shelf at any one time.

This is a far cry from the time - not too long ago - when the industry almost went down on its knees to get the major multiples to accept a simple Union Jack on pre-packs to strengthen the crop's national origin identity.

I am certainly not decrying the level of effort or enthusiasm surrounding the event, but when success is claimed, it is helpful to establish some sort of yardstick.

After all, commodity weeks - as they have now become known - have become big business. They already cover a multitude of products ranging from salads to tropical fruit, and are often associated with interests as widely diverse as vegetarianism, Fairtrade or Chinese New Year.

So I also have a feeling that I am not alone in my call for a measure. Nothing is for free and the chances are that someone, somewhere who has had to pick up the cost, logically wants to justify the expenditure when it is all over.

Editorial column inches are a barometer much loved by public relations companies, and can, as well as being a measure of success, actually help bring about a more sustained and longer term level of attainment. The recent report from the Banana Group is a clear example. Although of course its efforts have been based on a long-term generic approach rather than an annual flash in the pan.

But the real criteria for both it would seem is the achievement of increasing volume sales - for which there is no easy formula.

Even during a promotional week, results can be affected above all by quality, but also by early or late crop seasonality and prevailing weather conditions on the high street. Then there is the impact, if any, of price reductions or special offers.

A truly accurate assessment therefore will always be hard to find. While supermarkets have moved away from the time when they refused to discuss anything with the press, meaningful sales figures will probably always be out of bounds to anyone other than a category supplier.

Probably the best indication that such events have gone well, will continue to be the evidence that retailers can now be seen fighting almost daily to outdo each other with public claims of being "first", "earliest", or the most "inventive".

Lest we forget, their real message, however, is more concerned with polishing their own public image.

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