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Old 13-08-2008, 21:48
Carmen Queasy
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- When fruit is fresh, ripe, perfectly shaped and remains fresh for longer, is it modified in any way, or just grown really well?

- How do you know when food is processed? For example, is Subway chicken processed? It looks like cooked chicken, but I can't be sure.

- Why are fruit and veg so expensive? I know it's cheaper in placed like Aldi or at markets, but I just paid £3 for a small punnet of grapes and £2 for a punnet of strawberries (usually £3). I though fruit and veg was tax free?
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Old 13-08-2008, 21:50
the tiniest 1
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- When fruit is fresh, ripe, perfectly shaped and remains fresh for longer, is it modified in any way, or just grown really well?

- How do you know when food is processed? For example, is Subway chicken processed? It looks like cooked chicken, but I can't be sure.

- Why are fruit and veg so expensive? I know it's cheaper in placed like Aldi or at markets, but I just paid £3 for a small punnet of grapes and £2 for a punnet of strawberries (usually £3). I though fruit and veg was tax free?
Fruit and veg can be expensive due to the distance they have travelled. If I go to my parents' and buy raspberries from a farm nearby they are much less expensive than if I buy them at Tesco.
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Old 13-08-2008, 21:53
jeff biscuit
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- When fruit is fresh, ripe, perfectly shaped and remains fresh for longer, is it modified in any way, or just grown really well?

- How do you know when food is processed? For example, is Subway chicken processed? It looks like cooked chicken, but I can't be sure.

- Why are fruit and veg so expensive? I know it's cheaper in placed like Aldi or at markets, but I just paid £3 for a small punnet of grapes and £2 for a punnet of strawberries (usually £3). I though fruit and veg was tax free?
In supermarkets you'll usually find that the varieties of fruit and veg on offer that are perfectly shaped and all that are used specificly for that purpose. El Santa Strawberries, for example, are a more robust variety of strawberry that travel well (or so I've read).

Supermarkets also reject any strange shaped fodd because they believe that customers won't buy it if it doesn't look perfect. This goes for organic food too.
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Old 13-08-2008, 21:56
semtex65
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Its the transport costs that hike prices up. To give you an idea, the most efficient Euro5 articulated trucks (like the ones that deliver to supermarkets) can only do 9mpg at most, and many fleets still run Euro4's which do even less (around 7mpg). Look at the cost of fuel these days. Then you've got the highly skilled driver to pay as well.
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Old 13-08-2008, 21:57
Carmen Queasy
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I have to admit, I always look at the fruit and veg before I buy it, and I go for the better shaped one. We're so vain, even with food!
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Old 13-08-2008, 21:59
jeff biscuit
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Then the supermarkets are right

I don't look at shape, I only look for bruising etc. Supermarket fruit, I think, needs a week sitting in the kitchen before it's ready to eat, it's always so under ripe.
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Old 13-08-2008, 23:52
whoever,hey
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- When fruit is fresh, ripe, perfectly shaped and remains fresh for longer, is it modified in any way, or just grown really well?
perfectly shaped means its been manually picked out of many. Fresh for longer means it been sprayed with shit and has probably already travelled the earth twice.
- How do you know when food is processed? For example, is Subway chicken processed? It looks like cooked chicken, but I can't be sure.
you look at it. are the fibres still intact or have they been mashed.
- Why are fruit and veg so expensive? I know it's cheaper in placed like Aldi or at markets, but I just paid £3 for a small punnet of grapes and £2 for a punnet of strawberries (usually £3). I though fruit and veg was tax free?
depends where you get them from. i swear even abel cole dont charge that for grapes. i will check now.



generally though, always check the produce for texture before you buy. remember if you cant smell it in the shop thats how it tastes
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Old 19-08-2008, 10:50
DaisyBumbleroot
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depends where you get them from. i swear even abel cole dont charge that for grapes. i will check now.
i dunno - i saqw taste the difference cherries for £5 in Sainsburys... surprise surprise they were on the reduced shelf for about £3
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Old 19-08-2008, 19:46
dan1979
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Some fruit goes down a processing line and is photographed, anything that isn't the right size and colour, or has blemishes is rejected.

That's why you get four equally sized apples in one pack that all look the same, it's simply not possible to grow fruit and veg to look consistent.

For this standardisation and consistency you pay through the nose
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