Flavour is one of the most difficult thing to describe, as everyone has their own idea of what sweet and sour means. For this reason alone, such definitions must only ever be cursory when it comes to describing fruit and vegetables on packaging.

For example, I heard from a neighbour recently that Waitrose is stocking melons with that very sensible label girdling the fruit - in this instance, proclaiming it is sweeter.

On the other side of the coin, Sainsbury’s is stocking Sweet Little Gem under its Taste the Difference range at £1.79 for a twin pack - all part of the continuous race to fragment the product beyond “trimmed” and “hearts”.

Everyone seems to be getting in on the act, for at Marks & Spencer there is a new, “sweeter” blackberry on sale called Carmel, grown in Kent by Adam Shorter, at £1.99 for 50g.

Then there is the use of the term “new”. Experience has shown this can cover a similar multitude of possibilities, ranging from seasonality to initial introduction. This week, alongside a good showing of English apples, Tesco is extolling French Ariane (eight for £1.69) as “new” - although to my knowledge, the variety has been around for years.

What was more intriguing was the presence of organic apple Regal Prince (eight for £2.49), now grown in the UK, in this instance by Nick Moor - although the growers shown on the pack were Eric and Jean Rowlands.

And what exactly is the difference when a product is defined as “speciality”, as in the case of M&S red Sweet Scarlet grapes at £1.99 for 250g - even if the photo on the pack is for a white variety! Is this really the same as ” limited edition”?

At least there can be no arguments when it comes to M&S baby red salad onions, £1.19 for 90g, which proudly bear the label “exclusive”.

There are now signs that Christmas is not too far off, with dates generally being given more prominence. The traditional glove box that I used to help sell seems to have disappeared. Now, tubs and cardboard trays are the containers of choice.

I also came across what I initially felt some shoppers might see as a bit of a mystery. Waitrose has some excellent Deglet Nour dates at £1.99. Available under its Wholesome sub-brand, the pack has a large, seemingly unrelated number 13 written on the label. All was revealed, however, by the press office, and I quote: “The Wholesome range launched in January 2007. A set of numbers has been aligned to each of the range categories - nuts, cereals, grains, seeds, dried fruits, beans and pulses - providing room for the range to grow where possible. The numbers are also used to introduce a recipe idea for that product, on the back of pack, and have been incorporated as a design feature.“

And finally, following my attendance at the East Malling Research conference on novelty crops - reported on p24 - the UK is quietly making headway in this field. Tesco is already selling goji berries and another addition is British cherry bomb chillies, at 89p a pack.

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