Retailer will stock wonky carrots, potatoes, onions and parsnips in new range after Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall highlights food waste
Morrisons is launching a new permanent range of wonky vegetables before the end of this year at a discounted price.
The new range will include wonky veg such as onions, potatoes, carrots and parsnips, Morrisons told FPJ. A spokesperson said the retailer already sells Class 2 carrots as part of its Savers range, but the new wonky range is a new addition.
The news comes following a programme by celebrity chef and food campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, named Hugh’s War on Waste, where he gave away outgrade parsnips outside a London branch of Morrisons to highlight the problem of food waste.
In response, the retailer conducted a trial of selling wonky courgettes alongside Class One courgettes, but found that the ‘ugly’ vegetables sold much more slowly which was anticipated. Morrisons said this was because it had been priced the same as the Class One produce, and wonky veg only works when it is discounted.
Fearnley-Whittingstall criticised the trial as “pathetic” and told the Guardian newspaper that placing Class One next to substandard produce is “not what we’re asking supermarkets to do”.
It’s not the first time a celebrity chef has been instrumental in prompting a supermarket to stock outgrade produce – earlier this year Jamie Oliver persuaded Asda to launch its first-ever range of wonky fruit and vegetables after meeting growers as part of his Channel 4 series Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast.