Oddly shaped carrots and apples with spots are the heroes of a new Woolworths campaign designed to cut food waste and make healthy food cheaper...
The supermarket chain has kicked off The Odd Bunch initiative nationally this week, offering seasonal savings on the lumpy and misshapen counterparts of your favourite fresh foods.
At least 25 per cent of fresh produce is estimated to be rejected because of imperfections or cosmetic damage.
Food which is still perfectly good for human consumption, but ends up as waste instead.
The “ugly” fruit and veg that previously might have ended in the bin will now be sold in Woolworths stores for discount prices. Following the lead of similar and successful campaigns to reduce food waste from European supermarket chain Intermarche, the Woolworths initiative also comes three months after Harris Farm launched a comparable operation, The Imperfect Picks range, which offered up to 50 per cent off produce with minor visual imperfections.
Donald Keith, senior category manager at Woolworths, said the campaign was launched with customers and farmers in mind. " We wanted to introduce a unique collection of produce which is normally thrown away, and offer it for a markedly lower price," he said.
It is an opportunity for farmers to sell more crops directly to Woolworths, leading to less waste. Many farmers can't sell a lot of their produce due cosmetic imperfecrtions, so it's then either sent to a processor, sold for livestock feed, given away or dumped.
“There are many reasons why there are marks on fruit and veg, whether it's the wind or the way it sat on the stem,” Keith said. “But the eating experience doesn’t change."
People buy with their eyes, but there is nothing wrong with odd looking produce. Once you cut them up, they are no different and they taste the same.
Woolworths says it wants to show customers that this food is still delicious, and make healthy food cheaper.