The industry does not believe that enough is being done to remove unnecessary packaging, the freshinfo poll showed last week.

A massive 83 per cent of respondents said more should be done to strip off excess wrapping.

A total of 15 per cent insisted the industry has taken enough action, while two per cent did not know.

A number of the reader comments posted on the site indicated that the UK fresh produce industry should look overseas for model attitudes to packaging.

One reader, who said they had recently returned to live in the UK after a period in Australia, claimed there was a “much more entrenched green culture” down under, where “almost everyone proudly carries the long-life bags to the shops”.

“Why does one garlic bulb need to be a plastic net with a big label on it? Surely a well-labelled basket with the fresh produce in it would suffice?” they added.

Switzerland was also held up as a good example for the UK. “In Switzerland, most produce is sold loose,” wrote another reader. “The reason for this is the government imposed a tax on garbage bags, which are only available from the council. As the tax is quite high, people felt it necessary to dispose of the excess packaging at the retailers’ front door, before they took it home, thus saving money on tax.

“The retailers soon changed their ways and now loose produce is a great feature at all retailers.”

A charge for carrier bags was put forward by one reader as a step forward for the UK. “Even a developing country like South Africa does this, and it amazing to see how many people take their own long-life bags to the shop when buying groceries,” they wrote. “This cut the usage by half in three months.

“If the government wants to make an impact on plastic usage this is what it should do - a justifiable tax.”

Another reader proposed UK supermarkets take up an alternative solution, used by Welcome supermarkets in Hong Kong, and offer a discount to shoppers who bring their own bag.

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