Perfect fruit lacks favour as shoppers want ugly fruit

Mon, 19 Jun 2006
 
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After much criticism that supermarkets only sell cosmetically perfect food, Waitrose is responding by selling ugly fruit.

British fruit producers have suffered at the hands of supermarket giants as their fruit has been rejected because of its looks rather than its eating quality.

A prime example is apples, as they are not chosen if they are too red or not red enough, too big or small or having blemished skin.

The result is that the fruit not chosen by the supermarkets is often left unsold as waste or sold at a loss.

Waitrose are now going to be selling produce that is classed as Grade 2 ie visually imperfect. These fruits have not made Grade 1 because of their looks, but this has no bearing on their taste.

The supermarket chain will be selling the fruit as suitable for cooking but it can also be eaten raw.

The other reason to buy such fruit is it will be cheaper. Grade 1 tomatoes are sold for 2.48 a kilo but Grade 2 tomatoes cost 1.98 and Grade 1 strawberries cost 3.98 a kilo but Grade 2 cost 3.49.

Tom Richardson, fruit buyer at Waitrose said, "This range will help customers realise that while beauty might be skin deep, flavour is not."

A report highlighted the plight of British fruit producers by Friends of the Earth in 2002 which said that supermarkets put ‘impossible conditions’ on farmers to produce perfect fruit, leading to an increase use of pesticides.

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