Author Topic: Poor harvest lets wonky veg and misshapen fruit back in shops (Read 4035 times)

Mark · « **on:** August 26, 2012, 08:31:02 AM »

Supermarkets to relax restrictions on 'ugly' fruit and veg after wet weather takes a toll on the British harvest
Below average yields mean rejecting 'outgrade' produce could force some farmers out of business, says NFU

Anti-waste campaigners say a one-off relaxation of the rules is not enough

Wonky carrots, stunted parsnips and imperfect apples will all make a return to supermarket shelves after Britain's dismal weather conditions affected this year's harvest.

Shoppers are used to browsing the aisles for strawberries, cucumbers and carrots that look just as good as they taste.

But the wettest June on record, a cool July, and hail storms in August have all taken a toll on Britain's fruit and vegetables - prompting retailers to relax their rules on the cosmetic standards for produce
The move comes after farmers urged retailers not to waste perfectly tasty fresh produce because of a few blemishes or an unusual shape.

EU rules on misshapen fruit and veg were relaxed in 2009 but supermarkets still maintain private product standards.

The National Farmers Union has said its members were already struggling to cope with below average yields this year.

In June apple growers told how their orchards had been blighted by frost, rain and hailstorms, meaning the year's crop would be dramatically reduced.

Fruit farmers in the West Midlands, East Anglia, the South West and parts of the South East said they had lost as much as 65 per cent of their harvest.

In July - traditionally peak season for potatoes - farmers reported that they had lost 40 per cent of their potato crop because of waterlogged fields.

If supermarkets were to reject what produce has survived, it could push some farmers out of business, according to the NFU.

Wonky: Fruit and vegetables that are the 'wrong' shape are just as tasty as the more aesthetically pleasing versions

'The NFU has been calling on supermarkets to relax their standards because we do not want perfectly good fruit and vegetables rejected,' said Lee Abbey, a horticulture adviser at the union.

'Common sense should be applied,' he told the Daily Telegraph.

Small marks on the skin of fruits do not affect their flavour, but supermarkets will often reject blemished produce.

Retailers also insist on vegetables meeting certain size standards, despite the fact that a small carrot will taste just as good as a larger one.

This year major supermarkets Asda, Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury's have all pledged to sell more fruit and veg that previously would have been dumped for failing to meet cosmetic standards.

But author Tristram Stuart, who campaigns against food wastage, said a one-off relaxation of rules in response to the poor harvest was not enough.

He has said farmers are routinely forced to throw away up to 40 per cent of a crop because it is not aesthetically pleasing enough.

According to Mr Stuart, founder of the Feeding the 5,000 campaign, when the harvest returns to normal farmers will again be forced to dump produce

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2192918/Poor-harvest-lets-wonky-fruit-misshapen-veg-shops.html#ixzz24alHzpNj

Suezy · « **Reply #1 on:** August 26, 2012, 01:48:19 PM »

Thanks for that Mark - didnt know it was that bad over there. Hope we dont follow them for our summer.

Mark · « **Reply #2 on:** August 26, 2012, 02:52:29 PM »

I think we will get a nice warm summer this year Suezy.

Sara · « **Reply #3 on:** August 26, 2012, 05:17:37 PM »

I can remember wonky fruit and veg as a kid. Some of them were positivly awsome and others a bit rude. Used to get a giggle from them.

Mark · « **Reply #4 on:** October 11, 2012, 05:47:58 PM »

This was the wettest summer in a century and the second wettest in the UK since records began, Met Office figures indicate. The only summer – defined as June, July and August – which was wetter since national records began was in 1912. A drought across much of England during the spring followed by record-breaking wet weather has meant a poor wheat harvest for many farmers, the NFU said.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) said wheat yields in England were down by almost 15% on the five-year average, with productivity down to 1980s levels.

“There are many farmers who are down 25 to 30% on the wheat crop,” said NFU President Peter Kendall. “It’s been soul destroying for the farmers growing the crops.”

Poor UK harvests also mean smaller fruit and vegetables than normal.

Martyn Jones, from the Morrisons supermarket chain, said that, for example, carrots were not quite as sweet as previous years, and the available volumes of some food was down – about 25% across most potatoes and root crops.

According to English Apples and Pears Ltd, the apple crop is estimated to be down 27% on 2011, while the overall pear crop is estimated to be down 10%, with Cox and Egremont Russet varieties down 37%.

“I’ve been farming now for 40 years and it’s the worst harvest I have ever known,” says Paul Harris, an arable farmer in Dorset, who believes the difficult times may be set to continue.

The bad weather is also affecting the UK’s wine industry, with the quality and volume of the fruit not up to standard.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19890250

Mark · « **Reply #5 on:** October 19, 2012, 04:58:55 PM »

October 17, 2012 - 7:31pm By RAF CASERT The Associated Press

From drought to frost, vineyards facing worst year in half-century

.

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Winemaker Cherie Spriggs had watched the bad weather over southern England’s vineyards all season long. It just wasn’t good enough for Nyetimber, her award-winning sparkling wine.

“I have never seen a situation like this before,” Spriggs said as the grapes failed to deliver. She was left with only one option and the company decided to forego the 2012 harvest.

Few have gone as far as Nyetimber but drought, frost and hail have combined to ravage Europe’s wine grape harvest, which in key regions this year will be the smallest in half a century, vintners say.

Thierry Coste, an expert with the European Union farmers’ union, said Wednesday that France’s grape harvest is expected to slump by almost 20 per cent compared with last year. Italy’s grape crop showed a 7 per cent drop — on top of a decline in 2011.

“Two big producing nations, France and Italy, have not known a harvest so weak in 40 to 50 years,” Coste said. “All the major producing nations have been hurt.”

France’s Champagne and Burgundy regions were hard hit by weather conditions that particularly affected the prevalent Chardonnay grape, used to make the world’s most famous sparkling wine and the luxurious whites from those regions. Nyetimber also depends on Chardonnay.

In places where vintners were already facing a small margin of profit, many could be facing survival problems, said Coste of the Copa-Cogeca union.

“In certain regions, there will be many vintners in big difficulties because of the collapse of the harvest,” he said.

The European wine harvest automatically has a global impact since it accounts for some 62 per cent of the worldwide wine production.

It won’t mean any immediate drought for consumers since retailers typically offer a wide range of vintages. And taste often wins when yields are small.

In Europe, about 2.5 million families live off the wine sector. It makes the dependency on the vagaries of weather a sometimes cruel business.

Drought hit the Mediterranean rim hard this year, Coste said. As a co-operative leader in southern France’s Herault region, he should know.

“First and foremost, climate change or not, we see that we have ever more dry spells,” he said. Making matters worse is that even winter was dry this time. “It was almost zero (degrees Celsius) in the south.”

In the northern wine regions, it was the inverse, with cold and wet weather wreaking havoc. Hail in particular hurt the crops.

“Natural phenomena happened all at the same time to make sure the harvest is so small,” Coste said.

French figures show that in Champagne the harvest could decline by up to 40 per cent, with Bourgogne Beaujolais expected to decline 30 per cent. Bordeaux would get away lightly with a drop of 10 per cent.

Coste said there may be an upside to the bad harvest — it is not a bitter one when it comes to taste. The quality of the wine produced will be good as it is expected to be more concentrated.

“When it comes to quality, we are looking at a good year,” Coste said.

While some price increases were on the cards, Coste hoped they could be contained along the long chain from hillside picking to supermarket shelves.

About the Author »

By RAF CASERT The Associated Press

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/149936-weather-sours-eu-wine-harvest

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Author Topic: Poor harvest lets wonky veg and misshapen fruit back in shops (Read 4035 times)

Mark

Poor harvest lets wonky veg and misshapen fruit back in shops

Suezy

Re: Poor harvest lets wonky veg and misshapen fruit back in shops

Mark

Re: Poor harvest lets wonky veg and misshapen fruit back in shops

Sara

Re: Poor harvest lets wonky veg and misshapen fruit back in shops

Mark

Record-breaking Wet Weather Driving Up UK Food Prices

Mark

Weather sours EU wine harvest

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