Imperfectly Shaped Fruits and Vegetables OK’ed by EU — But Not Tomatoes
By Michelle Fabio
Under strict European Union rules, tons of edible but misshapen fruits and vegetables are discarded every year, going to animals or back into the land instead of to the marketplace.
As you might imagine, this practice also drives up prices.
Well, that is about to change as the EU has lifted such regulations on 26 fruits and vegetables, but not on our beloved tomato.
As we’d say in Italy, che scandalo!
Actually, each nation can decide whether misshapen versions of excluded fruits and veggies, like the tomato, can be sold so long as they are labeled “product intended for processing” or something similar. Believe me, the Italians I know don’t mind tomatoes with noses and other appendages–they all taste the same, right?
Neil Parish MEP, Conservative chairman of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee, commented on the new legislation: “Food is food, no matter what it looks like. These crazy rules have to go immediately.” He also added that “[t]o stop stores selling perfectly decent food during a food crisis is morally unjustifiable.”
For those of us used to shopping at farmer’s markets for whatever we don’t grow ourselves, I suppose the change won’t be very noticeable, but this should make a big impact in market prices, and hopefully make fresh fruits and vegetables even more accessible to people.
What do you think? Should markets carry only perfect fruits and vegetables or should consumers be able to choose?
And, do you, like me, purposely choose funny-looking fruits and veggies when you see them? For some great examples, go here.
November 26th, 2008 at 12:59 am
That’s crazy! The EU has a bunch of dumb rules like that. They also restrict the seeds you are allowed to sow, and many heirloom varieties are prohibited from being grown in Europe.
November 27th, 2008 at 3:17 am
Yes the seeds are also closely regulated as well; some such rules have some semblance of sense (maybe), but I agree with Parish–to prohibit perfectly good fruits and veggies from entering the marketplace just because of aesthetics is just wrong in today’s world. We simply can’t afford to do it anymore.