Pre-Packed Fruit & Veg

[presta]

An Email to Tesco:

I am writing in relation to Tesco’s policy of pre-packing fresh fruit and veg, and the difficulty in buying suitable quantities that this creates for those of us who live alone. The matter has been getting noticeably worse recently, so I have just checked my local branch (Braintree Market Place), and found that over 86% of the shelf space at the fruit & veg counter is pre-packed produce, and only 14% sold loose (241 crate spaces to 39).

I appreciate that this may be a policy prompted by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s campaign to reduce the waste arising from customers rejecting ‘ugly veg’, but you are forcing customers to buy food in quantities that they can’t necessarily eat before it goes off. Since WRAP calculate that 70% of food waste already occurs in the home, compared with 2% in the supermarkets, in seeking to alleviate a minor problem, I think you’re exacerbating the biggest one.

In addition to the waste aspect, Professor Tim Spector has recently been espousing the health benefit of consuming 30 varieties of fruit and veg each week. Assuming the recommended five 80g portions a day, eating 30 varieties each week would entail buying just 93g of each. This would be quite a tall order even with loose produce, and is totally out of the question with the majority of produce pre-packed.

Regards,

Estimates of Food Surplus and Waste | WRAP
30 a Day. Professor Tim Spector

And the reply:

Thank you for your email

I do appreciate the concerns you’ve raised regarding the quantities of pre-packaged fruit and veg not being suitable for yourself as a single person.

We select the most popular quantities for our pre-packaged produce with packaging only being used when it serves a clear purpose. This is usually done to prolong the life of the produce as well as offer some protection for the produce itself.

I do appreciate that these quantities will not suit everyone and not all our customers will want to buy produce which is pre-packaged. For these customer’s we will continue to offer loose produce as an alternative.

I have raised your feedback with the relevant business areas to ensure your concerns are being heard.

Kind regards,

Hmm, I think that the "most popular" quantities bought are typically going to be 2-4 times as much as a single person uses if typical households have 2-4 times as many occupants. Re: "packaging only being used when it serves a clear purpose. This is usually done to prolong the life of the produce as well as offer some protection for the produce itself", well, as I said in the email: "The matter has been getting noticeably worse recently". As far as continuing to offer loose produce, it was the disappearance of it that prompted my email. So far I've had to give up buying their apples, oranges, lemons, kiwi fruit, tomatoes, and garlic because they're no longer sold loose, if Sainsbury's follow suit I'll be stuck.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Its a common problem that not only affects those that are single, it affects couples and pensioners as well, as pensioners we eat a lot less than we did when we were youngsters, and it isn't only Tescos that does it, if I go into Coventry market a large number of stalls are selling fruit and veg in bowls at at a pound a bowl, these usually contain more than a single person, a pensioner or a couple would be able to eat before it goes off.

 

[simongt]

Do you have a local greengrocer near you - ?
I'm lucky in that respect as ours sells 90% of their stock unwrapped and also has a 'pre loved' basket of fruit & veg past it's best but perfectly useable. Although items are sold in wee tubs or by the number, I'm sure they'd be happy to sell a lesser quantity as their customers are so important to them.

 

[Cycleops]

In other words: 'On yer bike'

 

[Fastpedaller]

I fail to understand why Sainsbury's sell packaged bananas at a lower price than loose bananas!

 

[alicat]

I admire you for taking a stand, @presta. My main beef is that when fruit and veg are sold singly, they are now sold at price per item prices and not by weight. Good smoke and mirrors work!

And on a point of information, my reading of Tim Spector's recommendation is that it is 30 different varieties of plant-based food. I'm currently trying this out and when I add in nuts, seeds, pulses, beans, herbs, spices, tea and coffee etc I can get to 30 with not many more types of fruit and veg.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

So far I've had to give up buying their apples, oranges, lemons, kiwi fruit, tomatoes, and garlic because they're no longer sold loose,

I have the same challenge as you.
But my local Tesco is the only supermarket nearby that still does loose fruit and veg.
From your list above, the apples and oranges are usually in packs of 6, I can eat those in a week.
Lemons are sometimes available singly, unless I need the rind for baking I just use bottled lemon juice for cooking. Kiwi fruit I don't buy, but I have seen them sold loose.
Tomatoes, I can use the available pack no problem.
Garlic is sold individually.
Potatoes are also available loose.
The big discount supermarkets (Aldi and Lidl) in my area are a problem to shop in as a single household, almost nothing is loose.

 

[MontyVeda]

I admire you for taking a stand, @presta. My main beef is that when fruit and veg are sold singly, they are now sold at price per item prices and not by weight. Good smoke and mirrors work!

...

depends... in M&S a loose carrot is sold by weight whilst a loose onion is 20p (ish). And loose onions from M&S work out cheaper than Aldi's 3pack (which for me is two too many anyway)

 

[annedonnelly]

I hate packaged fruit and veg not only because it forces people to buy a set amount but also because of the packaging. I go out of my way to find local independent greengrocers and buy from them.
My other concern about pricing things by item rather than weight is that it is forcing producers to grow standard sized fruit and veg. What happens to the slightly larger or slightly smaller item? It probably goes to feed livestock or into food manufacture. But some of us want to buy a smaller item so that there's no waste.

 

[Electric_Andy]

I admire you for taking a stand, @presta. My main beef is that when fruit and veg are sold singly, they are now sold at price per item prices and not by weight. Good smoke and mirrors work!

And on a point of information, my reading of Tim Spector's recommendation is that it is 30 different varieties of plant-based food. I'm currently trying this out and when I add in nuts, seeds, pulses, beans, herbs, spices, tea and coffee etc I can get to 30 with not many more types of fruit and veg.

Not all pre -packed is cheaper. A net of 3 onions in Morrisons is 1.20. buy 3 loose ones and they're about 30p each or less

 

[wiggydiggy]

Do you have a local greengrocer near you - ?
I'm lucky in that respect as ours sells 90% of their stock unwrapped and also has a 'pre loved' basket of fruit & veg past it's best but perfectly useable. Although items are sold in wee tubs or by the number, I'm sure they'd be happy to sell a lesser quantity as their customers are so important to them.

Mine unfortunately closed but there are 3 towns near me with markets that will be doing similar things.

Is freezing an option? Not all F+V can be frozen* but break down that larger pack into quantities needed, I also wash and prepare my veg when doing that so it's ready to use.

* I once froze a lettuce, what was defrosted did not look good!

 

[bonzobanana]

I tend to shop focused on the value ranges and offers and typically for fruit and veg those are pre-packed. My local Tesco's in Yeovil is a very large Extra store, a brilliant store to have in a relatively small town and it has lots of fresh loose fruit and veg on offer but some of it is expensive organic and others are rarely discounted. You might get a pack of 6 apples for 59p but similar loose apples are maybe 20-30p each although a smidgen bigger. It makes no sense to buy loose in value terms.

However I have to say when I buy loose I tend to be very picky about which I pick up and other people do the same so you often end up with a lot of rubbish looking loose fruit and veg because all the best ones have been cherry picked. I went in Aldi the other day and it seemed like I searched through 300 loose bananas before I got about 3 I wanted to buy. They were a pretty manky selection.

I'm a single person but tend to shop with my elderly mother so we split packs of items anyway which is how I get around it. Between the two of us we often have a voucher to use and because its two of us we can get to the minimum purchase value to activate the voucher discount more easily. So if you can double up your shop somehow with a relative or friend if single perhaps that would work.

 

[rualexander]

I fail to understand why Sainsbury's sell packaged bananas at a lower price than loose bananas!

Less wastage presumably.
Each package might contain at least one unacceptable banana that you might rip off and leave on the shelf if It was an unwrapped bunch, which would then sit forlornly on the shelf for a day or two and then be binned.

 

[sheddy]

Plastics Petition
https://action.greenpeace.org.uk/global-plastic-treaty

 

[Dave7]

I have the same challenge as you.
But my local Tesco is the only supermarket nearby that still does loose fruit and veg.
From your list above, the apples and oranges are usually in packs of 6, I can eat those in a week.
Lemons are sometimes available singly, unless I need the rind for baking I just use bottled lemon juice for cooking. Kiwi fruit I don't buy, but I have seen them sold loose.
Tomatoes, I can use the available pack no problem.
Garlic is sold individually.
Potatoes are also available loose.
The big discount supermarkets (Aldi and Lidl) in my area are a problem to shop in as a single household, almost nothing is loose.

Aldi offer almost all their fruit and veg as singles. Tomatoes, for some reason, are pre packed. Bananas are single @ 14p or pre packed.
Due to health problems our appetites are poor so we are trying a "new" idea.......we have just bought a 2 week supply of frozen ready meals. One is not quite big enough but we can easily throw in some chips or a can of veg.