A giant pepper and cucumber helped raise awareness of UK salad crops yesterday when Essex and Hertfordshire growers headed to Westminster.

Glasshouse growers from National Farmers Union specialist branch Lea Valley Growers met MPs to celebrate National Salad Awareness Day, coinciding with the first 2013 crop of British cucumbers from the area on the Essex and Hertfordshire borders.

Mascots Pippa Pepper and Colin Cucumber joined local constituency MPs Robert Halfon, Eleanor Laing and Charles Walker for a photo call on Westminster Bridge before the MPs jointly hosted a reception inside the Houses of Parliament.

Lea Valley Growers secretary Lee Stiles said: “With renewed emphasis on buying quality British food this is the ideal time to be raising awareness of the Lea Valley glasshouse industry, with its proud history.

“Our members produce up to three-quarters of the UK’s cucumbers and half of the UK’s sweet peppers, and they could grow more if the planning system allowed them to do so.

“A key message we were delivering is there is enormous potential for glasshouse growers to expand but there needs to be more emphasis on glasshouse food production within the planning system.”

As part of the initiative, the Commons restaurant announced it was serving a Lea Valley salad of cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers to MPs on the day.

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