Food in the News

Adjacent stories filed by my reporters this morning:

>>Tennessee Woman Melts Bathtub Trying To Make Brisket

(Knoxville, TN) -- The bathtub might not be the best place to use a grill. A Tennessee woman started a fire after trying to barbecue a brisket in her tub. Officials say she was attempting to make the food over an open flame in the bathtub, but the head melted through the fiberglass exterior. Neither the tub or the brisket survived.

>>Half Of Produce Wasted Because It's Not Instagram Worthy

(Undated) -- Half of the produce grown in the U.S. is wasted because it is not considered Instagram worthy. A new study from the Guardian shows that about 50-percent of edible produce gets thrown out simply because it doesn't meet America's beauty standards. It's discarded because it's bruised, misshapen, discolored, or has another non harmful deformity. A North Carolina fruit and vegetable shipper told the Guardian that instead of wasting time harvesting produce grocery stores won't accept, farmers take the "ugly" food either to live stock or let it rot in the land fill.

The first story I believe; there is no lower bound for human stupidity.

The second story, however, I don't think I accept: misshapen apples become applesauce, overripe fruit is given to the poor, etc.

I accept second. Supermarkets want Class A fruit and veg, standard sized and blemish free. Those that don't conform are discarded by farmer/packer. Be nice to think discards went on to be used for processing, but I'm thinking food factories have their own contracted farmers.

Every now and again we get photos and articles in media showing fields of veg being ploughed back into ground because they didn't meet EU standards.

Some supermarkets here now have a section of 'ugly' veg/fruit after popular protests against food wastage, but most consumers want good looking stuff, hence popularity of selecting your own.

[Jenise]

A lot of B grade produce ends up sold at a drastic discount to B grade and independent grocers. As a kid, I loved those markets which, in my area, tended to be on the poorer edges of town. The fruits and vegetables were often smaller or of other species than those deemed just right for the mainstream grocers, but they sold for like a penny each and often had far better flavor.