UK government decides to keep EU ‘bendy bananas’ regulation despite Brexit

Brexiteer dreams of malformed bananas left in ruins

The regulation has often been the subject of parody (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

EU rules regulating the curvature of bananas will remain in British law despite a government purge of Brussels regulations.

The famous Commission regulation 1333/2011 had been due to fall off UK statute books automatically at the end of the year until a government U-turn this week.

The widely parodied rule lays down marketing standards for bananas across Europe and says they must be "free from malformation or abnormal curvature".

The regulation has sometimes been the subject of hyperbolic reporting in the British press claiming the EU had "banned bendy bananas".

In reality, it is only the most bendy of bananas that have faced the wrath of Brussels.

The "abnormal curvature" rule is included in a list of minimum standards laid down in the legislation, which will now become domestic British law.

Other minimum standards listed in the rulebook include having "stalk intact, without bending, fungal damage or desiccation" and being "practically free from pests".

A 2016 fact-checking exercise by European Parliament Liaison Office in the United Kingdom described claims Brussels wanted to "ban" bendy bananas as the "myth to end all myths" about the EU.

But it conceded there was some element of truth behind breathless reports regarding regulation 1333/2011.

"Is Brussels really meddling in what our beloved bananas should look like?" it asked.

"Yes and No. Bananas are classified by quality and size so they can be traded internationally. Quality standards are also needed so that people know what they are buying and that the produce meets their expectations."

"Straight and bendy are not banned by the EU. Commission Regulation 2257/94 identifies certain restrictions for fruits that producers have to conform to in order to sell their produce within the EU. The regulation states that bananas must be 'free from malformation or abnormal curvature'”.

It notes that "Class 1 bananas can have 'slight defects of shape' and Class 2 bananas full-on 'defects of shape'".

The government announced this week that it was gutting its EU Retained Law Bill – enraging some Tory Brexiteers who accused Rishi Sunak of breaking promises to them.

The government is scrapping a planned "sunset clause" that would have automatically scrapped EU regulations by the end of 2023, unless they were specifically earmarked to be saved.

Instead, a list of regulations explicitly specified for removal or reform will be listed on the bill. The regulation on the marketing of bananas is not among those listed.

The government says that it will retain the powers to scrap former EU regulation – which means it could liberalise or otherwise amend rules relating to the shape of bananas in the future.