My MEP Robert Sturdy has welcomed the return of misshapen fruit and veg to our stores from today when the EU finally lifts its ban on wonky fruit and veg.
It means that 26 types of fruit and veg, including bendy cucumbers and nobbly carrots, can be stocked again after their ban following the introduction of EU-wide marketing standards which ensured only the finest-looking produce reached supermarket shelves; they have been in force for 20 years.
However, the European Commission is keeping 10 standards in place on fruits such as apples, pears and kiwis, and vegetable
s including tomatoes and lettuces; these can be sold in their misshapen form if they are labelled appropriately.
Mr Sturdy, a member of the agriculture committee, said:
“This is great news all round and consumers will benefit from the removal of this ridiculous red-tape which made us a laughing stock. There was no justification for the dumping of perfectly good produce just because it didn’t conform to EU standards, especially at a time when food security and rising food prices are big issues.
“It is also great news for local producers and I hope it will encourage consumers to buy locally from farmers’ markets with extra confidence. However, while this is a step in the right direction, the controls on the remaining 10 products account for more 75% of all fruit and vegetables sold in the EU. These restrictions must be lifted in order to safeguard consumer choice ahead of pointless EU regulation.â€
That is good news. The misshapen ones were often the tastiest and it means less waste of food.
The interesting thing bout this, and one hat is ignored by oies nd UKIp people like is that the EU/EEC had no polidy on cucumbers. When it was looked in to by the EEC when they were thinking of standardising fruit veg sizes, only one country had a standard for cucumbers so the EEC adopted that country’s standard for the whole of Europe. That country was … the UK.
Yes, we had this silly rule and we gave it to Europe.
Have you seen any square melons yet?
Apologies for me typing on my earlier posting. The battery on my wireless keyboard was on its way out.
How on earth can Robert Sturdy claim that this is a good news story .
A ridiculous bit of typical EU legislation that had taken the plonkers 20 years to put away where it belongs in the ” loonies are us ” drawer .
Just shows that the British MEPs dont make a bit of difference being on the train .
Still of course they all get those nice fat salaries and of course the expences .
Bet the lot youve just supported are already putting in their claims.
Role on the revolution.
We get plenty of wonky fruit and veg here! The Sicilians have a proverb about cucumbers, likening them to love , which “starts off sweet and ends up bitter.”
I never knew bendy cucumbers were out…. all the ones i buy have been bendy 🙂
As for farmers markets ..great if you can afford the prices they charge
Yum! I’m quite mad for cucumbers…and have recently been purchasing baby cucumbers, no bigger than say 10 cms!
Look for them in your shops. They’re sweet and crunchy and perfect for a snack in front of the telly.
xx