Morrisons has launched a range of wonky British apples to help growers sell apples superficially damaged by unusual frosts which impacted orchards in April.
Millions of apples have been affected by adverse weather conditions with some brown ring known as “frost eye” around the some of the UK’s most popular fruit.
Unusually low temperatures, which dropped to -4C at the end of April, caused apples to have slightly blemished skin. However, Morrisons stress this does not affect eating quality.
The cold weather also reduced fruit quantity and so to help farmers, Morrisons will sell the blemished apples as part of its wonky packs.
This means farmers can sell the less-than-perfect apples and Morrisons can offer cut-price fruit to customers while reducing food waste. The supermarket now sells more than 500 tonnes of wonky veg to 500,000 customers every week.
Launched in 2015, the Morrisons wonky range includes fruit and vegetables that may be slightly misshapen, blemished or an unusual size. The line now includes cabbage, cauliflower, courgettes, peppers, swede, apples, pears, sprouts, asparagus and leeks.
“We want to see good fruit eaten. Whenever bad weather damages fruit we’ll work with our growers to help them make the most of their crops. Our wonky apples might be a little ugly, but they will taste great,” Morrisons apple buyer, Mark Booth.
