Business
Sun-tanned cauliflowers and knobbly spuds – the heatwave veg that’s good to eat
Supermarkets including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons and Waitrose already have dedicated lines for wonky vegetables.
Calum Kelly, Waitrose’s produce technical manager, said in demanding weather conditions “we relax size and shape guidelines for key veg to avoid waste and provide more income to our growers and farmers”.
“Baking potatoes might be a little smaller than usual this harvest if the drought continues. All these veg still taste great, but like many of us in a heatwave, they might just look a little less than perfect.”
Not every gap can be filled this way though. Andrew Opie, the director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said supermarkets are also importing more food from abroad as UK supplies run short.
“Retailers face the dilemma of supporting British farmers, but also making sure that we, as customers, have what we expect to buy when we go in the shop,” he said.
“It’s going to be a challenging period right through into the autumn. We’re hearing potentially it could affect things like cherries as well.”
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