Supermarket rejects 1,500 ‘ugly’ cauliflowers due to ‘tiny marks’ – leaving shoppers and local farmers outraged
- Farmer rescued 1200 cauliflowers that were ‘too ugly’ to sell at supermarket
- Josh Ball claims the food ‘had a few tiny marks on them’
- The act shocked customers and left farmers disgusted
Farmers and shoppers are shocked after a major supermarket rejected 1500 fresh cauliflowers because the food was too ‘ugly’ to sell.
Josh Ball, co-founder of Farmers Pick which sells ‘imperfect food’, was visiting a farm in Werribee South, Victoria, when a huge truck arrived to return the produce.
He claims he managed to rescue 1200 of the cauliflowers from being disposed of.
Josh detailed the situation in a TikTok video to highlight to ‘unsustainable practices’ big-name supermarkets utilise. He did not disclose which specific supermarket giant rejected the food.
In the comments he wrote the cauliflower wasn’t accepted because the food ‘had a few tiny marks on them’ but was otherwise ‘perfectly edible and tastes great.’
Josh Ball, co-founder of Farmers Pick which sells ‘imperfect food’, claims to have rescued 1200 cauliflowers that were rejected from a ‘major supermarket’ in Australia
‘I just got back from the farm down in Werribee South. One of our big growers down there, [a] big cauliflower producer, they had some pretty bad news late yesterday,’ Josh said in the video.
‘So the truck rolled in from one of the big supermarkets this morning. 1500 rejected cauliflowers.
‘Luckily we were there just at the right time and we picked up 1200 of them.’
In the clip Josh pans across to show the vegetables in 144 crates and four huge bins containing the vegetables.
There are a number of reasons why fruit and vegetables might be rejected from supermarkets – for example, the food might not be up to size standards or small scratches may be visible.
Overnight the video went viral exceeding more than 108,00 views and leaving thousands shocked.
‘I don’t understand why people expect fruit and veg should be perfect,’ one commented.
‘Supermarkets need to be stopped from treating producers like this. Once the cauliflower is cut and cooked who knows if it’s perfect or not!’ another wrote.
‘Why don’t supermarkets just sell it all and stop the pickiness?’ a third questioned.
In response the business wrote: ‘We couldn’t agree more! Enforcing unrealistic beauty standards on fruit and veggies is absurd, it all tastes the same!’
‘Wow. What a waste,’ another added.
According to Food Bank, food waste costs the economy around $36.6 billion or $2,000 to $2,500 per household per year.
The amount of water used to grow food that is wasted equals the volume of water in five Sydney Harbours (2600 gigalitres).
By shopping ‘imperfect’ produce from Farmers Pick, Australians can save up to 30 per cent on every shop.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk