Thursday, November 13, 2008

EU unbends a little

The bureaucrats of Brussels may come in all shapes and sizes but for years they have insisted that Brussels sprouts must have a minimum diameter of 10mm. Someone (a Dane, I believe) has now alerted that out-of-touch-with-reality group that there is a little financial crisis in the world and that people don't really want to throw away thousands of tons of perfectly good food simply because it is a little misshapen.

But we musn't get too excited. The rules will only be relaxed on 26 items. Regulations on the size, shape and curvature of bananas, apples, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces and endives, peaches, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes will remain.

I offer a word of encouragement for anyone who might feel nervous about eating a curved cucumber or a knobbly carrot - they taste the same as the perfectly straight ones. I buy all my fruit and vegetables from Riverford Organics or from local farms where they judge the quality of the produce by its flavour and not its appearance.

Never did I think that I would link to The Mail but here is a superbly illustrated article on the subject.

5 comments:

  1. I get my veg from River Nene, it's just Riverford in our neck of the woods. I think the veg is good value too. I have a fruit and veg box and 4 pints of milk for a little over £15. You get a lot for your money, in terms of decent, ethical fruit.

    Anyway, I thought I'd never link to the Mail either, it must be something to do with blogging...

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  2. You are quite right about value from the organic boxes. There is no waste at all since the vegetable peel is safe to eat (no nasty chemical sprays) and everything has been freshly picked.

    I hope I haven't corrupted you with that link to The Mail!

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  3. Oh what fantastic photos! They've brightened my day and I've sent the link to everyone I know (who will all be as startled to receive a link to the Mail from me as I was to find myself sending it!)

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  4. In the 'olden days' we would have said this is like living in Russia under Communism. I can't believe there are rules like this.

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