What do a straight banana, knobbly carrot and lump potato all have in common? They are what is known as 'ugly fruit'.

Ugly fruit are perfectly edible and contrary to popular belief taste the same as their more beautiful counterparts - they just do not look as pretty on the supermarket shelves.

It is for this reason that over recent years oranges and carrots have been fed supplements to make them more orange.

However, according to the National Farmers’ Association (NFA) ugly fruit is set to find its way back onto the supermarket shelves as a stringent 20-year ban on this type of product was lifted by the European Union on Wednesday 12th November.

The European commission released a press statement entitled "The return of the curvy cucumber: Commission to allow sale of 'wonky' fruit and vegetables" after this repeal was announced.

It revealed that during last year's negotiations on the reform of the Common Market Organisation for fruit and vegetables, the commission committed itself to reducing unnecessary bureaucracy by getting rid of a number of marketing standards for fruit and vegetables.

The recent decision now means that these standards will be repealed for 26 products., These products are: apricots, artichokes, asparagus, aubergines, avocadoes, beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflowers, cherries, courgettes, cucumbers, cultivated mushrooms, garlic, hazelnuts in shell, headed cabbage, leeks, melons, onions, peas, plums, ribbed celery, spinach, walnuts in shell, water melons, and witloof/chicory.


However,, the proposals would maintain specific marketing standards for 10 products which account for 75 percent of the value of EU trade: apples, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces, peaches and nectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes.

Member states are at liberty to exempt these ten products from the standards, so long as they are sold in shops with an appropriate label to say that this is the case.


The statement explained: "In practical terms, this means that an apple which does not meet the standard could still be sold in the shop, as long as it were labelled "product intended for processing" or equivalent wording."

These new changes will come into effect from July 1st 2009 and could change the face of supermarkets' fruit and veg isles.

Philip Hudson, chief horticultural advisor for the NFU, said: "How welcome this will be is going to depend on how far [consumers] are prepared to go and pick up and buy the stuff."

"If we continue to uphold this attitude that the gear has to be perfect otherwise [consumers] will not pick it up, then it clearly will not have a positive impact," he continued.

"But if [consumers can] get over that, and realise that this stuff may not be perfect, but is still perfectly fine to eat and tastes as good as the perfect gear, then it can have a potentially positive effect for [farmers]."