Only the consumer tracking from TNS and the multiples themselves will give an indication as to whether shopping habits are changing as cash becomes scarce but, meanwhile, initiatives above and beyond simple price-cutting are being introduced to enhance perceived value across the produce range.

Only recently, I observed that Marks & Spencer is highlighting the results of Campden & Chorleywood independent taste panels to encourage sales. The case I noted was for apples, but a fortnight later had been extended to a 230g bag of aromatic stir fry for £2.49. This mix certainly brings together many flavours, as the contents include pak choi, baby courgettes, sugar snap peas, salad onions, Tenderstem broccoli, red chillies, coriander and chives.

Prepared veg has also been given a further uplift at M&S with the introduction of the Cook microwave range, in this case a pack of spinach, peas and asparagus with white wine butter at £2.99.

More prosaic, but equally praiseworthy, were carrot batons at 99p, while also on the counter and further upgrading the humble root was a ready-prepared Chef’s Style carrot pack, also at 99p.

Portuguese butternut squash was priced at £1.29 each in M&S. This particular variety has really caught on over the years, and there are now similar varieties coming forward, such as Greek Coquina squash at Sainsbury’s, at £2.49 under its Taste the Difference brand.

August, despite the weather, is still the heart of summer and stonefruit is going strong. M&S has added a new dimension to its Perfectly Ripe French Bergeron apricots, at £2.99 for six fruits. The new message to the customer reads: “Picked from the sunniest side of the tree for super sweet juicy fruit.”

And what did catch my eye was a single-layer lidded punnet pack of English Victoria plums, that shows off our nationally acclaimed rather brown-grey variety to far better advantage than other packs have in the past.

Asda is stocking an alternative to conventional and organic soft fruit. Good Natured Fruit - Pesticide Free-branded 350g packs of strawberries are on a two for £3 ticket.

The idea of selling associated products and kitchen devices in the fruit and vegetable section has usually had a mixed reception, purely because of the strict allocation of shelf space. But in the same store there was a continuous on-screen presentation for a Nice Slicer Veg Dicer - perhaps a glimpse of ideas to come - supporting those tasting tables.

While on vegetables, one is often struck by the wide variation of the offer, in this case with leeks, which seem to vary in size, shape, and the best proportions of stem to shank. There are baby leeks, trimmed leeks and stew-pack leeks, while Tesco had three variations on display which ranged in length and trim.

And if you want a change, sprouts - the sort which burst forth from seeds - are becoming more numerous. Bean sprouts once held pole position, but are now being contested by a new range at Asda, including organic Sango Radish sprouts, at 98p for 115g.

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