‘Ugly’ fruit and vegetables: a call for more flexible purchasing

Oversized zucchini and apples or carrots with three legs: fruit and vegetables do not always grow to buyers’ specifications. As a result, perfectly edible produce goes unsold, say Boerschappen and No Waste Army. With their petition ‘From Class A to Class Everything’, they are calling for more flexible purchasing agreements. The appeal also targets processors. How can the food supply chain better accommodate what farms produce?

More flexibility in purchasing agreements

Drought, rain, heat, and hail affect crop yields and appearance. Think of hail-damaged apples or carrots with two legs. Many buyers set requirements for shape, size, and delivery volumes. When crops fall outside these specifications, farmers often bear the risk, according to the petition’s organizers.

To supply enough produce that meets specifications, farmers sometimes grow more than necessary, the organizers say. The organizations are therefore calling for more flexible agreements on volumes. They also want greater acceptance of nonstandard shapes and sizes. The produce in question is perfectly good and safe to eat. To accommodate it, supermarkets, foodservice companies, and processors need to adapt their purchasing, logistics, and processing practices, the organizations argue.

Markets for nonstandard produce

No Waste Army says it has saved nearly six million kilograms of food from going to waste. Last summer, it organized ‘The Netherlands’ Most Crooked Supermarket’. According to the organization, the initiative showed that consumers are willing to buy nonstandard fruit and vegetables.

Each week, Boerschappen checks what farmers can harvest and delivers directly to consumers. Together, the organizations deliver a monthly Wonky Box containing fruit and vegetables. This produce has been rejected because of its shape or size. According to the organizers, alternative sales channels alone are not enough to put more of the harvest to use.

Call to implement parliamentary motion

The organizations are calling on politicians to implement the Grinwis motion. According to the press release, the Dutch House of Representatives adopted it on April 1, 2025. The motion calls on the government to push for more flexible statutory quality classifications for fruit and vegetables at the European level.

The organizations also want action on additional purchasing requirements that unnecessarily exclude perfectly good food. Consumers can sign the petition at stopvoedselverspilling.nl.