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Bent cucumbers and deformed carrots? EU scraps marketing standards due to rising food costs


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EU shop shelves may soon be filled with twisted carrots, warped leeks and bent cucumbers as Europe's farm chief decides to get rid of "unnecessary marketing standards", partly because of the rising price of food.

EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel wants to scrap 26 of 36 marketing standards that apply to a wide range of products such as artichokes, cauliflower, garlic, spinach and watermelon. "The proposal would ... allow member states to exempt fruit and vegetables from specific marketing standards if they are sold with a label 'products intended for processing' or equivalent wording," the Commission said in a statement.

"Such products could be either misshapen or under-sized and could for example be used by consumers for cooking or salads. In this era of high prices and growing demand, it makes no sense to throw these products away or destroy them," it said.
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12 responses // Bent cucumbers and deformed carrots? EU scraps marketing standards due to rising food costs

  • This is very good considering they could be sold for less and taste just as good!! I like the idea!!
    Solarbaby420
  • What!? No perfect rows of apples or carrots? No preselected illusion of complete symmetry and waxen shine? Will it be America if that happens here?
    24French
  • Good -- I've always been slightly suspicious of stores with only 'perfect' vegetables. Now I'll be able to browse authentic vegetables.
    shelchak
  • Ugly fruits are tastier: FACT.
    mischabarrett
  • It NEVER made any sense to throw food away just because it's not picture-perfect. We're buying them to eat, not put in a magazine spread.
    Allsunday
  • EWW, they're deformed!! THROW EM AWAY! xD
    Eri_Soulja
  • I hope this cuts down on waste. However, I wonder who is buying and consuming those fruits and vegetables that were not sold in stores up until now. Will farmers see the price of feed increase? Will shelters and food banks have less donated food for the hungry?

    Everyone in the world economy is linked.
    ajcowley
  • Alot of 'ugly' makes its way to animal feed or waste to be used as fertiliser.

    Now its going to end up been sold a huge wack pushing up the cost of animal feed and natural ingredients in fertisers
    Purdey
  • I think its great. I remember the days when you could buy a bendy banana or a crazy cucumber without Europe telling you not to. To think that people are actually employed to deal with whether we're allowed to buy out-of-shape vegetables! An utter waste of time. And yet another thing that makes people- and politics-free life on some remote island even more appealing...
    LindseyIndigo
  • About time, too.
    Vierotchka
  • I took my boyfriend to the farmer's market today and bought some sweet potatoes. He was shocked and said, "Why are they so small and twisty? The ones at our usual store are always huge and all the same shape and size." I replied, "Because these ones are from real local farms, not California."

    Hurrah for less waste and more reality!
    Elligirl
  • http://www.hanttula.com/exhibits/mofa/wp-content/upload...
    I say "Nom Nom Nom!' All tastes the same to me!
    mattbrawn

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