News: Mis-shapen fruit and veg

That's right, Europe's laws regarding the sale of weird shaped fruit and vegetables looks set to be repealed. The numerous laws banning non-perfect fruit and vegetables from reaching supermarket shelves have been in force for 20 years but with food prices rising a rethink has suggested that maybe this is a bit much.

I must say it's pretty ridiculous and terribly wasteful to just throw funky shaped food away. However, this may not be as positive as you might think. Of the 36 types of fruit and veg governed by these laws; only 26 will be relaxed, these don't include apples, citrus, kiwis, lettuces, pears, tomatoes, grapes, peppers, strawberries and peaches/nectarines. It may be that these 10 will be relaxed later as long as they are clearly labelled as "intended for processing."

Also, the weird shapes wont be around until July next year so there'll be no multi-pronged parsnips or knobbly potatoes on your plate for christmas.

So really, does it matter what your fruit and veg looks like? I think that as long as it tastes good, why should it?