The standards, in force for more than 20 years, have been a source of irritation to exporters. Some stipulations are that a green asparagus must be green for 80% of its length, and that cucumbers must not be bent by a curve of more than 10mm for every 10cm.
Marketing standards will remain in place for 10 types of produce, including apples, pears, strawberries and tomatoes — with an important difference: the sale of “imperfect” fruit will be allowed if they are labelled “product intended for processing” or a similar wording.
Farmers, growers and supermarkets have all backed the repeal of the rules. Shoppers will see the new products from 1 July next year.
Gielie van Aarde, CEO of Cape Town based produce exporter FreshGold SA, welcomed the EU's move. “Since the global economic downturn began the powerful supermarket chains in the EU have not been so full of problems.”
He is still “bullish” about business for the coming year. “If the relaxation of the regulations helps to increase demand by 5% - 10%, that will be fantastic for us.”
EU agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said: “We do not need to regulate this sort of thing at EU level. In these days of high food prices and general economic difficulties, consumers should be able to choose from the widest range of products possible.
“It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away just because they are the wrong shape.”
Neil Parish, chairman of the European parliament's agriculture committee, said: “To stop stores selling decent food during a food crisis is morally unjustifiable.”
It is estimated the regulations caused 20% of fruit and vegetables imported by the EU to be rejected.
Source: Financial Mail
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