I am always interested in recommendations made by retailers to help consumers, because they are open to so many interpretations. Recently, a very attractive flyer arrived through my letterbox courtesy of Morrisons, highlighting a range of fish, meat and fruit to spread the multiple’s The Best message.

Most people would agree with the reputation that Pink Lady has acquired within the apple category and its rank in the premium own-labels of the multiples. But when it comes to tomatoes, there are so many to choose from that opinion must be endless. Morrisons, I noted, backs seasonal Italian Baby Sanmarzano at £1.49 for 250g.

And to lend a retailer’s weight to its choice of product, apples at Waitrose are now dubbed Growers’ Selection and are endorsed by a Buyers’ Choice sticker that to my mind has a more direct association with the product’s provenance. Interestingly, the variety was the trademarked Sundowner, a cultivar that originally came out of Australia a decade ago and is now being produced in France. It was also a bargain offer at £1.49 for a tray-pack reduced by 25 per cent.

On the subject of prices and following the thoughts I penned last week about the demand for cherries, I cannot pass up the opportunity to record the retail ticket of Spanish glasshouse-produced Brooks. Some of the famous expensive London food halls would be hard pressed to compete. The initial price for a 300g pack was £19.49, although by the time I spotted them they had been reduced to a mere £12.67. I expect this record to stand for some time, but I will keep looking.

The fruit may only be for customers with healthy wallets, but at least the message that produce is good for you keeps coming up in different forms. There was a time when only the tomato industry and dieticians knew of the benefits of lycopene in the juicy red fruit. But Tesco is now drawing attention to the fact it is stocking fruit marketed on the vine from Norfolk that has a high lycopene content.

In the same timescale, just as the tomato selection has divided and subdivided to produce cheap standard fruit as well as added-value lines, the mushroom industry has followed suit with new packs and products popping up almost as fast as the crop grows in the casing tray.

Tesco’s Finest exotic range features some Lancashire grown specialities, which this week included a 33 per cent extra free offer on 100g of mushrooms for £1.29. While shiitake took its place on the counter some time ago, consumers are now being introduced to Nameko, and the massive Eryngli, each working out at about a third of the volume in the pack.

Apparently, producer John Dorrian, pictured on the pack, has had experience growing several exotic species for no fewer than 14 years. Stardom in the eyes of the multiple is no longer confined to this side of the Channel. For anyone who wants to see what Jacques Timmerman looks like, just buy a polybag of French Jazz.

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