EU ban on ugly fruit and vegetables scrapped

A twenty year old law prohibiting the sale of odd shaped fruit and veg in the EU has now been scrapped. The intention is to lower the price of fresh food and to cut red tape for growers and importers. Retailers estimate that prices for misshapen and blemished produce will be about 40 per cent lower.

In all, 36 types of fruit and vegetables can now be sold whatever their shape, size, lack of sheen or gnarled skin.

Baby vegetables are already fashionable items and these are likely to become more popular — from today it is no longer illegal to sell a cauliflower less than 11cm in diameter, and carrots described as small no longer have to weigh at least 8g.

The Grade 1 and Grade 2 classification system will, however, still apply to the ten products, including apples, tomatoes, strawberries, grapes and pears, which account for 75 per cent of the sales of fresh produce. Misshapen examples of these can be sold in the shops and will have to be labelled as for use in cooking rather than for eating fresh.

Old rules consisted of:

* Class 1 cucumbers must be “practically straight” and their maximum bend must be at a gradient of no more than 1/10

* Carrots must not be forked (with more than one root). They must be smooth and regular. If they are less than 20mm, they must be called “early” carrots.

* A bunch of grapes must not weigh more than 1kg

* An onion can only be sold if two thirds is covered in skin

New rules

Fruit and vegetables that can be sold in any shape or size: apricots, artichokes, asparagus, aubergines, avocados, beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflowers, cherries, courgettes, cucumbers, mushrooms, garlic, hazelnuts, cabbage, leeks, melon, onions, peas, plums, celery, spinach, walnuts, watermelons, chicory.

Fruit that will continue to be graded (but can be sold in misshapen form for cooking): apples, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces, peaches and nectarines, pears, strawberries, capsicums, table grapes and tomatoes.

One rule that hasn’t changed however:

- The bend of a banana must be the thickness of a transverse section of the fruit between the lateral faces and the middle, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, must be at a minimum of 27mm.

Source: European Commission