Thursday, July 2, 2009

Ugly fruits won the war against European Commission



Yes, what you read just now is right, ugly fruits won the war after two decades against European Commission. The ugly fruits means the fruit which are not in the perfect/standard shape.

If you are wondering what is special with these rules then read some of the rules:

*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 (0.79ins), 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.

Its very funny isn't it? I don't know what is the problem if a bunch of grapes weigh more than 1kg or carrots are not smooth. Due to these rules some 20% of vegetables were rejected by the shops because it failed to meet the standard shape.


According to new rules standards will be repealed for 26 products : apricots, artichokes, asparagus, aubergines, avocadoes, beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflowers, cherries, courgettes, cucumbers, cultivated mushrooms, garlic, hazelnuts in shell, headed cabbage, leeks, melons, onions, peas, plums, ribbed celery, spinach, walnuts in shell, water melons, and witloof/chicory.

But even now European Commission is not ready to accept the ugly fruits fully. Standards are still in place for 10 fruit items: apples, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces, peaches and nectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes. However, Member States may also exempt these from the standards if they are sold in the shops with an appropriate label. In practical terms, this means that an apple which does not meet the standard may still be sold in the shop, as long as it is labelled "product intended for processing" or equivalent wording

The interesting thins is that these 10 fruit items accounts for 75% of the value of EU trade.

Rule that hasn’t changed: 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(1.06ins). Really horror!!! isn't it?

Anyway now unattractive vegetables too find a place in supermarkets. Another interesting thing is that retailers estimations says that the price for this unattractive vegetables will be 40% lower.
Its not necessary that nature will always give beautiful, size and standard specified by European commission. A banana can be more curvy, but i have no problem in eating that banana, do you have?

Sajeev.

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