I experienced a distinct feeling of déjà vu while following the escapades of Sainsbury’s, which hit upon the idea of selling “ugly” or, as the industry knows them, “ungraded” fruit and vegetables during Halloween - but failed to make much of an impact.

Fresh food has always been an emotive subject, and no more so than some years ago when both agricultural and horticultural disciplines were forced to reduce mountains of butter and lakes of wine. Every so often, pictures appeared of Dutch tomato or Italian stonefruit growers standing in front of heaps of fruit, which were photographed to make them look like the Pyramids.

But with the European Community’s current marketing standards under the microscope in Brussels, it could now be a case of watch this space. The word is out that next year, marketing constraints will be lifted on 26 lines of produce, although the major lines will probably be untouched.

Over the years, these European regulations have attracted miles of column inches, focusing on everything from the humour of bent bananas or crooked cucumbers, to more serious matters such as the blatant wastage that many perceived the rules incurred.

As far back as when the UK was moving towards membership of the Common Market, the rules created various degrees of ire among the industry as well. I submitted an article to the Financial Times headlined “Growers Prepare for Grades To Come”, which produced a welter of correspondence, much of it from cauliflower growers who were totally against the idea.

In a radio interview with Baroness Summerskill I explained why apple growers would have to leave small fruit on the trees - and was promptly asked for the location of the orchards so the public could go and pick the fruit!

Only time and legislation will tell whether, after years of criticism, members of the public - now anaesthesised after years of well-graded, fresh-looking, literally millimetrically graded crops - will actually turn their attention to produce that is less than perfect.

In the prevailing financial climate, the impact of the new legislation could become associated with cheapness and the equivalent of Class III tickets might start to appear on the shelves.

But whatever transpires, the glaring gap that often seems to separate British consumers from their continental counterparts will remain - namely, the awareness of taste. At least we should all be grateful that times have moved on from the old days, when arrivals of early grapefruit were so acidic it was rumoured in the wholesale markets that their juice would dissolve tooth enamel, or complaints were rife that early English Cox were as hard as concrete.

But customers continue to smell melons or squeeze avocados and peaches before making a purchase, still unsure of vague descriptions designed to point the way forward, such as “ready to eat” or “ripen at home” - and I can attest to the fact that not all of these claims stand up on closer inspection.

The UK consumer still buys by the eye, so while any changes to regulations may benefit the producer, there is still a long way to go on the shop floor.

Topics