After this year’s grim summer affected production across much of Europe, especially in the UK, the Co-operative Food has announced it is relaxing its rules regarding the aesthetics of fruit and vegetables.

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Smaller or misshapen fruit and vegetables will be sold in the supermarket chain this year, after persistent rain, cool temperatures and little sunlight took their toll on Britain’s horticulture industry. The Cooperative Group has said it will continue to take British produce, rather than look elsewhere for more cosmetically appealing grocery items, in a bid to support British farmers and growers following one of their most challenging years in living memory.

Whilst the Cooperative is touting its new measure as a means to help control costs and reduce the reliance on imports, food policy experts have said that supermarkets should permanently accept slightly misshapen produce to stamp out waste and improve national and global food security. They claim the supermarket model’s illusions of abundance and reliance on uniform, cosmetically unblemished fruit and vegetables are unsustainable and damaging.  

The Cooperative announced on Monday (16th October) that "size reductions have been introduced on standard fruit and vegetable lines, including apples and potatoes, while smaller sized, mis-shapen or skin -blemished produce will be allowed into the retailer’s Simply Value produce range." The increased leniency on 'outgrade' rules could prove a lifeline for some in the industry who have been particularly hard hit.

Asda, Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury's have also pledged to relax their cosmetic standards, which would have seen produce wasted or sold cheaper for juicing or processing in other years. Author and food campaigner Tristram Stuart has argued that supermarkets should permanently relax their selection criteria for fresh produce, in line with other European states; he pointed out "What we are seeing is an informal relaxation of the rules during a poor harvest, but supermarkets should be doing this every year. People know that fruit and veg will taste just the same despite irregularities of colour, shape or size."

Kate Jones, Head of Product Development and Farms, The Co-operative Food, commented on the retailer’s decision, "The Co-operative is fully aware of the challenges farmers have faced because of the extremely poor weather this summer, which has had a significant impact on crop yields. We will continue our support for British farmers during this difficult period, by working with them to make the most of this year’s crop. Great-tasting but odd-shaped or ‘ugly’ fruit and vegetables will be included in selected lines to maximise use of the crop available. At the same time, we will continue to do all we can to remain competitive on price for our customers."

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