Ugly fruit and veg make a comeback

Wonky cucumbers and comedy carrots are staging a comeback thanks to a European Union decision to scrap stringent rules which stipulate that only the most perfect-looking produce adorns supermarket shelves.

Yesterday the European Commission abolished more than two dozen laws that have stipulated the look of Europe's fruit and veg – including Brussels sprouts – for the past 20 years. Mariann Fischer Boel, the EU's agriculture commissioner, led the crusade against the "ban on ugly" earlier this year, arguing that tons of food was being wasted at a time of rising household costs.

"This marks the new dawn for the curvy cucumber and the knobbly carrot," Ms Fischer Boel said yesterday. "We simply don't need to regulate this sort of thing at EU level. And in these days of high food prices and general economic difficulties, consumers should be able to choose from the widest range of products possible. It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they are the 'wrong' shape."

The regulation has long fuelled ridicule of the EU as a hive of busy-body bureaucrats generating realms of red tape to sneak into every nook and cranny of citizens' lives, with tabloids pouring scorn on "Bonkers Brussels".

It also triggered campaigns by environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth and supermarket giants. Retailers in Europe say at least one-fifth of fruit and vegetables is currently being wasted and expect prices to come down by up to 40 per cent.

"We have been struggling to fit a square peg in a round hole for too long now," said Sue Henderson, a senior executive at Sainsbury's. "We're not allowed to use up to 20 per cent of what's produced in this country and in the current climate of the credit crunch, we cannot continue to waste this much food before it even leaves the farms."

The supermarket chain was recently forced to withdraw its promotion of discount Halloween-themed vegetables, fearing that its managers could find themselves with a criminal record for selling non-standard produce.

Waitrose launched an "ugly" range of Class II produce for use in cooking and jams two years ago. "Food is food, no matter what it looks like," said Neil Parish, a Conservative member of the European Parliament, who welcomed the decision. "To stop stores selling perfectly decent food during a food crisis is morally unjustifiable." Alyn Smith, a Scottish MEP added: "This good news may perhaps even nail once and for all the myth that the EU regulates everything in sight."

Although the rules have been changed for 26 fruits and vegetables – including aubergines, apricots, cherries, garlic, leeks, peas, spinach and watermelon – marketing standards will remain for 10 types, which account for three-quarters of produce sold in the EU, including apples, kiwi fruit, tomatoes, strawberries and lettuce. The Commission, though, says that shops would be exempted from the rules so long as these products are labelled as "product intended for processing".

Although many of the EU's 27 member states failed to back the proposal to abolish the laws this summer, the Commission overrode those concerns in yesterday's vote. The new rules will come into force next July.