Mis-shapen fruit and veg laws set to be scrapped

Curvy cucumbers and nobbly carrots will be back on sale in the shops from next July if, as expected, more than two dozen laws banning imperfect-looking fruit and veg are scrapped today.

EU-wide marketing standards ensuring only the finest-looking produce reaches supermarket shelves have been in force for 20 years.

But to reduce red tape and bureaucracy - and make cheaper fruit and veg available as household bills rise - eurocrats say it is time the unnecessary restrictions disappear.

EU standards currently stipulate the size and shape of 36 types of fruit and veg sold in Europe, from apricots to watermelons.

If today's vote goes through, the rules will be repealed for 26 of them, including artichokes, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, cucumbers, onions, peas, carrots, plums, and ribbed celery.

Specific market rules would stay in place for the 10 products which account for 75% of EU fruit and veg trade - apples, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces, peaches/nectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes.

But national authorities could exempt even those 10 from the rules on shape and size, as long as they are put on sale labelled as "product intended for processing" or something similar.

The Commission said that, if the vote goes through, the changes cannot be implemented until the start of July next year, for practical reasons.

But when the mis-shapen produce does reach the shelves, retailers estimate it could be sold as much as 40% cheaper than the current "class one" goods.

Conservative MEP Neil Parish said: "These crazy rules have to go immediately.

"To stop stores selling perfectly decent food during a food crisis is morally unjustifiable.

"Credit should be given to the EU agriculture commissioner for pushing through these proposals, and pointing out that this is a matter that should not be decided by the EU.

"Consumers care about the taste and quality of food, not how it looks."

A Commission spokesman said: "These rules were originally asked for by the fruit and veg industry, because when a wholesaler orders crates of cucumbers, he needs to have some idea of the quality of the produce. We then based our rules on international standards applied by a committee of the United Nations.

"However, times have changed, and we agreed during negotiations last year that we could get rid of red tape in this area.

"Now household budgets are tighter and there is the problem of wasting food too, so it makes more sense than ever to allow people to buy mis-shapen fruit and veg if they wish."

He added: "Also, there's a proliferation of private standards being set by some supermarkets for the produce they sell, and if there are to be standards for most of these goods, it can be left to national authorities."