MEPs lobbied to allow ‘knobbly veg’

The National Trust and a leading consumer food magazine have joined forces to encourage the consumers to put pressure on MEPs to relax EU regulations against “knobbly veg”.

Delicious magazine takes issue with EU regulations which define the size and shape of a variety of fruit and vegetables such as apples, tomatoes, strawberries, grapes and pears.

Fruit and vegetables which don’t meet the criteria for size and shape are classed as “Class Two” and labelled “for cooking” in stores and often end up in processed meals or as animal feed.

The magazine has attacked the practice of wasting food which is fit for human consumption which results from these regulations and is encouraging consumers to purchase “Class Two” vegetables and write to their MEPs.

“We’re calling for shoppers to vote with their purses, then change will follow. The message is: knobbly fruit and veg taste just as good,” said Karen Barnes, editor of Delicious.

A spokesman for the National Trust said they supported the move to avoid food waste.

“Eating and buying knobbly veg is a great way of reducing food waste,” the spokesman said.