• Waitrose to begin selling ugly fruit to cut down on waste
    44 replies, posted
Waitrose is to start selling a range of ‘blemished’ fruit in an attempt to curb the colossal levels of food dumped for being imperfect. The supermarket will introduce a range of apples that have been damaged by poor weather conditions alongside its normal selection of more attractive fruit. [url]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2645508/Damaged-ugly-fruit-sold-Waitrose-bid-cut-endemic-food-waste.html[/url]
I assume they will be cheaper? Although it's hard to tell because waitrose is considered expensive and the quality very good.
[QUOTE=Winner;44972972]what the fuck that is such a colossal waste of food[/QUOTE] But, people are highly judgemental/critical of food.. Even those who scream "All natural, no GMO!" Would turn down imperfect fruit/veg.
I remember seeing a documentary where they talked about throwing away peaches that looked weird, but the way they looked actually indicated that the fruit was ripe with lots of delicious sugary juice... and that it was therefore the best possible quality
If it's sold for cheaper I would totally buy fruit that is 'imperfect' because everything is perfect in my eyes. And I like to save money.
Instead of just throwing them away, feed them to pigs, make more bacon!
I wish I could get properly bruised fruit. They are perfect for pies and other pastries.
[QUOTE=Bradyns;44973069]But, people are highly judgemental/critical of food.. Even those who scream "All natural, no GMO!" Would turn down imperfect fruit/veg.[/QUOTE] Cause and effect. They're highly judgemental _because_ they normally only see perfect stuff. If this were the norm they'd easily settle for less-aesthetically-pleasing-but-just-as-tasty food.
they do this at krogers here in the states. my mom buys them up and uses it for juicing
Working at Whole Foods (or any supermarket for that matter I suppose), we are told that if it looks even remotely bad, we should regard it as waste. However, we have two kinds of waste: edible and rotten. The rotten is self-explanatory. The edible food we have to remove from the store floor are either made into juices/fruit salads or it goes to a local food bank that comes everyday. We try not to waste as much as we possibly can. The problem is that sometimes we get food delivered and it arrives super ripe or nearly rotten. It can't be helped sometimes, so we have to throw it out. Slightly went off track I suppose, but I would totally buy that "imperfect" fruit. I also know a decent number of people who don't care what it looks like, as long as it isn't rotten they'll buy it.
[QUOTE=Sword and Paint;44972936]I assume they will be cheaper?[/QUOTE] Fuck no. It doesn't taste any different and its not unhealthier for you. You eat food, not look at it.
Supermarket fruit and veg prices are why I buy my fruit and veg from the greengrocers round the corner, Incredibly cheap fruit and veg. Like a kilo of mushrooms for £1,20 and 5 red peppers for £2.00, it's just better. I can feed myself for £15 a week if I didn't like meat so much. Also, they sell a bunch of other stuff like mangoes and pomegranate which are much riper and juicier than the ones you get in say sainsburies which are just hard and sour. Hopefully this means that they can get the prices for this stuff waaay down in waitrose because it's really quite extortionate to be honest.
who actually shops in waitrose
They should use those 30% to create other products. Juice, pie, fruit salad...
[QUOTE=MatheusMCardoso;44973792]They should use those 30% to create other products. Juice, pie, fruit salad...[/QUOTE] they should turn them into organic fertilizer for their fields for the next crop replenishes necessary nutrients, minimizes environmental damage
I work on a farm and we take our stuff to a local farmers market. We sort through the stock before taking and separate the good from the bad. Recently we have been bringing some of the more blemished/imperfect produce and selling them for a bit cheeper as well as the good stuff. This whole mentality of "oh this apple has a spot/cut here it is completely rotten I won't buy it" is very silly but many people do it to our good produce stock. I cant tell you the amount of people come and squish every single item in the basket or dig down to find the best onion in the basket(which is of course on the bottom). I had someone actually try to tell me the eyes in the potatoes we were selling mean they are bad and it was an outrage we are selling them.
So much delicious meals/desserts can be made with blemished fruit
that's like the whitest thing ever. throwing away food because it isn't pretty
It's about damn time. I remember a thread a few months back about someone suggesting a store where all the reject fruits and veggies (by looks, not quality) would be sold for lower prices. Good thing we don't need that anymore, right?
A lot of people are too afraid of what they eat, some poeple I know refuse to eat a sand which that has been in the fridge for a day. Use your eyes, smell it and taste it. Then you'll know if it's good enough to eat.
[QUOTE=MaxOfS2D;44973206]I remember seeing a documentary where they talked about throwing away peaches that looked weird, but the way they looked actually indicated that the fruit was ripe with lots of delicious sugary juice... and that it was therefore the best possible quality[/QUOTE] I assume the same goes for va...yeah no I think I'll just stop right here because I foresee this ending badly for me if I finish my thought. Good to know about peaches though.
And I'm sure people won't buy them.
[QUOTE=MatheusMCardoso;44973792]They should use those 30% to create other products. Juice, pie, fruit salad...[/QUOTE] But they do. And even if it's thrown away, the 'greens' garbage is picked up separately and typically ends up as compost, or food for pigs. The large, [i]large[/i] majority of wasted food comes from regular, run of the mill households. People throwing away full packages of food because of the 'best used before' date, eventhough nothing is wrong with the food at all. This food commonly ends up with the normal garbage and gets dumped on landfill sites with the rest. [i]That[/i] is where the real waste is.
[QUOTE=V12US;44976426]But they do. And even if it's thrown away, the 'greens' garbage is picked up separately and typically ends up as compost, or food for pigs. The large, [i]large[/i] majority of wasted food comes from regular, run of the mill households. People throwing away full packages of food because of the 'best used before' date, eventhough nothing is wrong with the food at all. This food commonly ends up with the normal garbage and gets dumped on landfill sites with the rest. [i]That[/i] is where the real waste is.[/QUOTE] In the UK the dates on produce you can mess about with and go beyond are the best before, but the use by dates, mostly for meat and fish, are dates that you really shouldnt be messing around with.
Used to work on the produce section in Morrisons, the amount of food that used to get slung was abysmal, and that would be after the 30% that never even made it to the store for being ugly.
Do all British people have such high apple standards?
[QUOTE=Bobie;44973735]who actually shops in waitrose[/QUOTE] They're a respectable and profitable organization, they belong to the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lewis_Partnership"]John Lewis scheme[/URL].
A lot of restaurants buy ugly fruit because it is cheaper and the customer doesnt usually see this ugly fruit.
[QUOTE=Winner;44972972]what the fuck that is such a colossal waste of food[/QUOTE] Most people will usually turn their chin up at vegetables if it even has a faint sun-spot these days thanks to the supermarkets "perfect" shit. [QUOTE=Commando1234;44974561]I work on a farm and we take our stuff to a local farmers market. We sort through the stock before taking and separate the good from the bad. Recently we have been bringing some of the more blemished/imperfect produce and selling them for a bit cheeper as well as the good stuff. This whole mentality of "oh this apple has a spot/cut here it is completely rotten I won't buy it" is very silly but many people do it to our good produce stock. I cant tell you the amount of people come and squish every single item in the basket or dig down to find the best onion in the basket(which is of course on the bottom). I had someone actually try to tell me the eyes in the potatoes we were selling mean they are bad and it was an outrage we are selling them.[/QUOTE] I had a similar job growing up and what always got me were the people that would just walk up to the table and pick up a tomato and eat it, then walk away without saying a word.
[QUOTE=MaxOfS2D;44973206]I remember seeing a documentary where they talked about throwing away peaches that looked weird, but the way they looked actually indicated that the fruit was ripe with lots of delicious sugary juice... and that it was therefore the best possible quality[/QUOTE] This reminds me of doing watermelon slices at the store I work at. The best watermelons, in terms of the flesh and juice inside, were the ones that often looked odd, and often had a bruise or two. But many people would still rather get the ones that look nice on the outside, when buying a whole one, even when I have told them it directly to their faces. [editline]a[/editline] [QUOTE=Commando1234;44974561]I had someone actually try to tell me the eyes in the potatoes we were selling mean they are bad and it was an outrage we are selling them.[/QUOTE] I've lost count of the times people come in, thinking they know better about the condition of our produce, and make some snide comment about how we should throw them out.
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