Why should politics be dull? For a good laugh, I suggest you read European Union Commission Regulation 1292/81 of 12 May 1981. It lays down the marketing standards for aubergines. You can find it here.
Allow me to wet your appetite. Thanks to the EU Regulation aubergines cannot have sun-scorching covering more than 4 cm2. I couldn’t ascertain whether British food inspectors have been issued with European rulers (satisfying the European Regulation on Rulers) to catch evil market traders who sell aubergines which transgress the threshold.
In addition, the allowed size of aubergines is measured by either the maximum diameter of the equatorial section on the longitudinal axis. The minimum diameter is fixed at 40 mm for elongated aubergines and 70 mm for globus aubergines. Aren’t we blessed with European civil servants who in examples like this show how much they have our best interests at heart? Not in our part of the world, undersized aubergines!
Some in Brussels have come to their senses and have proudly announced that for certain produce the exacting standards will be scrapped. Not to their full senses though: regulations for citrus fruit, apples, pears, strawberries, tomatoes etc. will remain in place. We have been reassured that bananas will have to remain “free from abnormal curvature” as no complaints have been received. Do they read the press in Brussels?
According to The Telegraph, an estimated 20% of the British harvest is thrown away because it’s not the right shape – adding an estimated 40% to the cost of, for example, carrots. A market trader in Bristol was told that he couldn’t sell kiwis because they were 1 mm (0.04 inches) too long – resulting in a £1,000 loss. Food inspectors didn’t even allow him to give them away.
One Eurocrat stated on the Today Programme (12 November) that “supermarkets want these regulations”. It’s not up to government to second-guess what supermarkets want to sell. Could you imagine the scene if European Regulations were to organise supermarkets?
The observant holiday maker may have seen evidence of another classical phenomenon. Ever noticed the shapes and forms of produce sold in the shops in southern European countries? Yes, it’s another example of how they royally ignore the ridiculous – whereas we enforce it.