Timothy Kirkhope: MEPs must shape up over an ill-formed policy

Bendy bananas and knobbly fruit and vegetables are once again under threat after some MEPs tabled amendments in the European Parliament calling for the EU to re-impose its ban on wonky fruit and vegetables.

The EU ban was lifted last year. It put an end to the strict marketing standards imposed for 26 types of fruit and vegetables, governing their size and shape. Ridiculously, fruit and vegetables which did not meet the standards could not be sold, which meant they were often simply thrown away. As well as wasting a huge amount of healthy food, it had the effect of driving prices up – a double blow for consumers.

It also hit producers – and there were many in Yorkshire who supported our campaign to overturn the ban.

The Scotta Report, now going through its early stages in the Agriculture Committee in the European Parliament, is looking at the issue of product quality.

However, this well-intended report is in danger of being hijacked by these MEPs, who have tabled key amendments.

These amendments call for "the restoration of marketing rules for fruit and vegetables that can supply uniform standardisation parameters and objectives which, at all stages of the food chain, can strengthen the transparency of commercial operations and establish consumer friendly quality criteria". They also "regret the near total dismantling of the Community marketing rules in the fruit and vegetable sector".

In words we can all understand, they want to re-impose the ban on wonky fruit and veg.

This could spell misery for Yorkshire's farmers, whose produce might not win a beauty contest, but whose flavour and quality is second to none.

To try to stop stores selling perfectly decent food simply because of its shape or size is morally unjustifiable, especially when we are

worried about global food supplies and still in the midst of an

economic downturn.

Regulating the size, shape, and appearance of food is pointless and makes no sense. There is no valid reason why anyone should care if farmers or markets sell imperfect looking produce.

The only important issues are things like fundamental quality and food safety. If people want to buy or sell produce that does not meet somebody's view of an "ideal" appearance, who cares? After all, what constitutes an ideal shape is entirely subjective. Some people may associate perfect looking produce with growth hormones, genetic engineering, pesticides, and other unwanted, overly intrusive human interference.

For generations, we Britons have enjoyed the quirks of fruit and veg. Odd looking carrots and potatoes even had their own feature on TV programmes such as That's Life.

As much as 20 per cent of farm produce was thrown away or fed to farm livestock because it didn't match the size and shape rules. That is immoral.

I thought common sense had finally prevailed when the rules were relaxed last July. This decades-old political hot potato (a perfectly formed potato, of course) was finally overturned after sustained pressure from Conservative MEPs and reams of bad publicity in the media.

Our farmers were grateful that they could sell perfectly good quality produce. Farmers and growers work extremely hard to produce quality food, but nature does not always comply with a perfectly rounded apple or a poker-straight carrot.

Brussels listened to shoppers, farmers, environmental groups and retailers who all knew that "imperfect" fruit and vegetables are just as tasty and nutritious as any other. They must listen again.

If the MEPs get their way, we could see the re-introduction of the ludicrous rules. At the end of the day, it is consumers who will decide what they want. Let the market decide, not the European Parliament.

Timothy Kirkhope is a Conservative MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber. He is deputy chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists.