Brussels, 12/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - Rules governing the size and shape of fruit and vegetables will soon be consigned to the past after European Union member states voted, on Wednesday 12 November, on Commission proposals to repeal specific marketing standards for 26 types of fruit and vegetables. The Commission's initiative which for practical reasons will not apply until 1 July 2009 aims to contribute to bringing the price of foodstuffs down. It also aims to rationalise and simplify EU rules and to reduce red tape. For 10 types of fruit and vegetables, including apples, strawberries and tomatoes, marketing standards will remain in place. But even for these 10, member states could for the first time allow shops to sell products that don't respect the standards, as long as they are labelled to distinguish them from “extra”, “class 1” and “class II” fruit. In other words, the new rules will allow national authorities to permit the sale of all fruit and vegetables, regardless of their size and shape. Until today, wonky or misshapen fruit and vegetables were used for industrial processing or waste. Mariann Fischer Boel, European Agriculture Commissioner, stresses: “It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they are the 'wrong' shape”. (O.L./transl.jl)