I’ve been getting a strong sense of déjà vu over the last week or so, which I suppose must go back to when my career started in the original Covent Garden working with a well-known importer in Floral Hall.

The first instance is when I read reports that the symbol group Simply Fresh extolled the virtues of the wholesale markets - Birmingham to be precise - and is using supplier Red Cherry as it is more practical than turning up to purchase most days of the week.

Additionally, it says that loose produce attracts customers while another benefit is that “there is a fortune to be made through special deals, and if there is waste it can be alleviated by the margin.”

Good news for wholesalers who have been saying that as long as I can remember, and even more loudly as their numbers have shrunk and the market becomes increasingly competitive.

It takes me back to the time when commission agents, which once numbered over 100 throughout the county, had a genuine role in sourcing and bargain providing.

The second example comes from the news of a pilot study referred to in FPJ last week, by research scientists at Unilever, Kew Gardens and Cranfield University.

They believe that “pre-domesticated fruit and vegetables” provided a healthy diet for earlier generations. These contained a higher level of beneficial nutrients that have subsequently reduced or bred out as new varieties coming forward.

Leading the charge is Egremont Russet, the golden, rough-skinned apple variety which first showed up in 1872 in Somerset at an ancient fruit show at Sherborne Castle, although there is still some difference of opinion over how it reached commercial status at the turn of the century. Its fame is normally associated with the appropriately named Lord Egremont of Petworth House in Sussex.

Reading that the work will now continue on older varieties of apples, bananas, onions, and surprisingly mangoes, one wonders if in turn this will lead to a resurgence of one-time favourites on the shelf which have all but disappeared.

Egremont has an obvious head start because there is still a sizeable production, but what about Norfolk Royal apples, Cambridge Favourite strawberries or the once-famous Pershore Egg plum varieties which made Evesham famous?

After all there has been some success in reintroducing many of the long-forgotten potato varieties, simply for no other reason than they represent novelty, are more than fit for purpose in terms of differing culinary requirements and, most importantly, taste good. -