Father Christmases of various shapes and sizes are beginning to make their annual appearance everywhere, hanging from lamp posts as part of the celebration lights on the high street, occupying magic caves in garden centres and ranging in scale from mock frosty opulence to humble cardboard cut-outs. Let there be no doubt that the festive season has arrived.
There is probably no other time when consumers have a more heightened awareness in every sense of the somewhat loose and, in my opinion, often misunderstood awareness of “seasonal” produce, be it Mediterranean easy peelers to fill a stocking or British Brussels sprouts to go with the turkey.
Such desirability has been an increasingly loud clarion call over the entire year from both the national media and the multiples, intertwined with the message that following such a route may in some small way contribute towards our escaping the impact of the economic recession - and longer term, assist climate change.
Most arguments probably float above the heads of the average shopper, who is more concerned with quality and price, but does at least have a newfound awareness of the ethics affecting purchases, reflected in the success of regional branding schemes and the adoption of labels identifying airfreighted crops.
That said, however, I often feel I am fighting a losing battle even in my own circle, when the whole question of seasonality comes up for discussion.
But full marks for the PR messages sent out by the Fresh Produce Consortium in response to last month’s Food Ethics Council report What Should Supermarkets Do About Seasonal Food?, which is another attempt to inject reality into the situation.
The point that we make is that everything is seasonal. English strawberries, tomatoes, asparagus and apples, for example, rightly have an emotional hold on the public psyche, but outside - and often inside - their calendar period, excellent-quality products are available from numerous sources.
For example, Cox and Egremont Russett apples have a traditional and welcome place in the UK at Christmas, but so to do imported Braeburn, Gala, Pink Lady, Jazz and many others.
But citrus, grapes and melons are never clothed with the same arguments, simply because the UK does not grow them. What is needed is a greater understanding that at certain times of year, each global source will be at its best, rewarding customer’s taste buds and hopefully, providing the opportunity to increase sales.
As the arguments will doubtless continue, I would much prefer to see heated debate in the media or even at trade level, perhaps at the numerous conferences, over whether, as an example, coconuts grown in Iceland and marketed in August taste better than their competitors in Greenland, which are harvested a month later. Such discussions hardly seem to exist publicly and when the subject is raised, it usually deteriorates into a diatribe on the impact of being screwed into the ground by the competition.
The key, of course, is greater levels of awareness, not just of source and suppliers, but real information on brix levels and health benefits. At least in a small way, the message is getting through as retailers now regularly announce the arrival of a “new season” lines , but there is still a long way to go.
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