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medpundit |
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Sunday, July 17, 2005BRITAIN’S farmers are being forced to throw away as much as a third of their fruit and vegetables — most of it perfectly edible — because supermarkets are imposing ever-tougher rules on its cosmetic appearance. Growers are being hit by rules that can, for example, require potatoes to pass a skin-brightness test, apples to undergo a crispness examination and carrots to be straight and clean-shaven of all root hairs. ....Supermarkets say they have little control because they have to follow consumer trends. Each year, however, they issue farmers and food packers with lengthy specifications for each of the fresh fruit and vegetables they want supplied. One such document, issued by Somerfield, sets out its criteria for cauliflowers over three pages, including a demand that all should be 12cm-16cm and uniform in colour with no more than two spots per leaf. ....One farmer, who requested anonymity, reported how Tesco had tested his potatoes with a “brightness meter”, to see if their skin was shiny enough. “Potatoes come out of the ground and a little dirt preserves the flavour and stops them drying out,” he said. “They want vegetables that look man-made.” A Kent apple grower described how his products had been examined by a supermarket with a “crispmeter” to see if their flesh was firm enough. Maybe they would prefer wax fruit. And how do you suppose a "crispmeter" works? (This probably says all that needs to be said on the subject.) posted by Sydney on 7/17/2005 05:45:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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