Press Release: The return of the curvy cucumber: Commission to allow sale of ‘wonky’ fruit and vegetables

Rules governing the size and shape of fruit and vegetables were consigned to history after European Union Member States voted on 12 November, 2008, on Commission proposals to repeal specific marketing standards for 26 types of fruit and vegetables. The Commission's initiative to get rid of these standards was a major element in its ongoing efforts to streamline and simplify EU rules and cut red tape. For 10 types of fruit and vegetables, including apples, strawberries and tomatoes, marketing standards will remain in place. But even for these 10, Member States could for the first time allow shops to sell products that don't respect the standards, as long as they are labelled to distinguish them from 'extra', 'class I' and 'class II' fruit. In other words, the new rules will allow national authorities to permit the sale of all fruit and vegetables, regardless of their size and shape.