01-02-12, 08:43 PM
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MP to set up 'ugly' food firm
MP to set up 'ugly' food firm - Telegraph
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It has long been said to be damaging to the self-confidence of women. But it appears that society’s obsession with beauty and perfection is having a bad effect on food, too.
However, a Conservative MP is hoping to reverse the trend after calling for mis-shapen fruit and vegetables to be specially promoted and sold in supermarkets.
Laura Sandys, the MP for Thanet South, wants to set up a company specifically to sell “ugly” food.
She said: “We have had very cheap food in the UK for many years. In some ways this has driven us to value it much less, so while we don’t pay much for food it costs us more money to produce it.”
Mrs Sandys, who would like to market the food under the brand name Ugly, has been discussing the matter with farmers in an attempt to understand why some fresh produce is rejected by supermarkets.
“You see the most amazing reasons,” she said. “For example, an apple that may not have enough red on one side, or too much green on the other. These apples do get used in things like apple juice, but obviously at a much lower [price]. Why should an apple that has not enough red or green not be acceptable when it tastes exactly the same?”
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In 2008 bureaucrats in the European Union relaxed strict regulations dictating the size and shape of fruit and vegetables, which allowed more irregular produce to go on sale.
The rules change following protests from supermarkets, grocers, and farmers, including the Prince of Wales, who were forced to throw away produce that didn’t measure up to exacting requirements. The rules were further relaxed in 2009.
An estimated 20 per cent of the British harvest is thrown away to comply with EU regulations. This is calculated to add as much as 40 per cent to the price of some vegetables, including carrots.
Mrs Sandys criticised the supermarkets’ seeming obsession with beauty.
“They are spending more time and money insuring this food is absolutely beautiful which in itself is wasteful,” she said, adding that she had been discussing her retail idea with the National Farmers Union and the British Retail Consortium.
“I would like to see it in supermarkets but we would also be looking at smaller retailers and wholesalers who may end up selling it to places like restaurants.”
And it’s not only fruit and vegetables that could get the “ugly” treatment and a new lease of life.
According to Mrs Sandys the branding could be used to sell fish such as Pollock, which is considered less desirable than cod or haddock. It could also be used to market meats that have fallen out of fashion with the modern consumer, she added.
“Things like kidneys and liver can be delicious but they are rejected because we have stopped understanding how to cook them,” she said.
“We are the largest importer of food in the developed world.
“We really need a culture change when it comes to our food. It is rising in price, which is obviously not desirable for families, so we are going to have to value everything that we grow more.”
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