Endorsement comes in all shapes and sizes, and the produce trade is now no exception when it comes to spreading its message to the consumer.

Probably the first example of this was when supermarkets decided there was very good mileage in revealing the identity of British, and now in some cases overseas, producers, whose photographs can regularly be seen smiling on various point-of-sale materials, as well as numerous trays and polybags. Their identities are backed, either additionally or alternatively, with high-quality product photos, but alas! - the contents do not always match up to the promise.

But a closer inspection this week has led me to the conclusion that there are other, more subtle ways to endorse products, using everything from past horticultural history to direct association.

Take the humble potato, for example. The now defunct Potato Marketing Board struggled for years to get varieties not only named, but displayed with more information about their specific cooking qualities. Today, there is a vast amount of detail - Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference golden flesh Phureja potatoes, probably wisely also identified as Mayan Gold, are being offered half price at 99p/1kg. They are heralded as a gourmet variety originating from South America.

Another tongue twister at Marks & Spencer, priced at £1.89/1kg, are British-grown Limited Edition Mr Little’s Yetholm Gipsy. While there have been red, white and blue potatoes on the retail scene for some time at Waitrose, as I have reported, this particular gem is described as being all three colours at once. Apparently very rare, it was known in 1899, but subsequently saved by an expert at Kelso, whose surname is now immortalised.

Here the provenance is clear cut, although in the same store M&S is offering Kenyan-grown baby red salad onions, at 99p for 90g, under an exclusive label. But what does the word exclusive, visible in practically every produce department, actually mean? When I showed them to my wife, her first questions were: “What makes them exclusive? Doesn’t anyone else grow them?”

For many of its citrus lines, Tesco has been recruiting the help of Disney. What caught my eye was the small print on a 600g pack of Spanish Nules, on a two for £2.50 offer, advertising a clementine competition which has recruited - with apologies to Rupert - the world’s most famous bear, Winnie the Pooh. The Tesco Disney Kids range “encourages healthier eating”, and its association with Disney makes it “trusted by parents”, according to the packaging.

The alternative, relatively unusual at the moment, is the comparatively neutral approach taken by Lidl on its pack of cocktail vine tomatoes - £1.19/300g - which carries a picture of a happy family about to savour the joys of a salad - rather like those advertisements in the cinema for the local curry house. That opens up a thought or two about what could come next. Perhaps we will see chefs endorsing specific varieties and products. After all, Florette has already gone down this route with its bagged salads.

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