Wacky fruit and vegetables made a dramatic return to supermarket shelves throughout Europe for the first time in more than 20 years Wednesday, after the European Union scrapped rules governing the size and shape of produce.
Until now, cucumbers could not be legally sold unless they were “practically straight” and bananas were not allowed to have abnormal curvature, according to the regulations.
But curvy carrots, over-sized melons, and other strange fruit and vegetables will be back on the menu as the EU strives to cut red tape and reduce waste during the tough economic conditions.
“It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they are the 'wrong' size and shape,” she said. Farmers have been forced to trash up to a fifth of their produce for breaking the EU standards.
They would never sell in Japan where the fruit has to look perfect and a melon that's perfect sells for at least US$100! The picture is an example of selling perfect fruit; it's a square watermelon for easier storage, shipping, and, of course, serving!
Premium
Comments (22)
Those Europeans, so boring lol
I think Hitler tried to make Europe 'the right size and shape' once...
hahahahahahahaha wow i didn't even know such an ordinance existed! what did they think of gooseneck gourds?
A square watermelon???!!!
Oooh! Square watermelon! That's new.
That would explain the square watermelons they always had in Mario Sunshine o3o
the Japanese even have heart shaped melon.
LMAO. They have heart-shaped watermelon too. o_o it's really expensive though.
Squared watermelon? Nice!
I like my food boring.
US$100 for a watermelon is expensive!!
haha i've seen a different picture of a square watermellon. i'd rather have normal fruits..
that watermelon is amazing.
it's not like bent cucumbers are diseased.. stop spoiling the public with perfection. nature comes in ll shapes and sizes.
I would never pay $100 for a freaking watermelon. Who cares what shape a fruit or vegetable is, as long as it's healthy then we should eat it. Throwing stuff like that out is ridiculous, especially since there are so many hungry people out there. Why not ship it to Africa if they're not going to eat it? That's just plain wrong I think.
i never knew europe had such stringent regulations. it seems so wasteful; i'm glad they're changing that.
wow that is weird.... i buy plenty of irregular fruit and produce from Chinatown all the time. it's true you know, Safeway and the other snobby places will reject less than perfect fruit/veg and those end up being sold to cheap sakes *cough cough, i mean Chinese people. well ... i guess it's also cuz there are lots of low income new immigrants in Chinatown and i will not fault them for keeping a low budget.
but yeah, the fruit in Chinatown is always cheaper and never as pretty or big. cherries that are not big or ripe enough. apples that are way small. oranges with lots of blemishes. eggplants that are bruised. small broccoli. watermelons that are not round or the color is patchy. you would not believe how bruised some of the bananas are, i've seen bananas that look like they have been in a bar brawl.
I'm very surprised so many people haven't heard of square watermelons. They simply grow them in boxes on the ground to make them any basic shape they want.
And I thought perfection would stop at humans. Poor cucumbers..
I remember the Simpsons episode where Homer bought a cubed watermelon, which then turned back into a regular shaped watermelon a few seconds later and he drops it. :P
@Erika_Steele@xanga - And cheap! 8D
-Kunoichi
hehe interesting.
Buy Generic Viagra online
Online pharmacy no prescription
Online pharmacy sites
Buy Anti Allergy pills
Buy Anti Depressant pills