Shaping up!

Some recent headlines:

EU reshapes fruit , vegetable rules - Boston Globe

EU scraps regulations on forbidden fruit - Foodnavigator.com

EU relents and lets a banana be a banana - Intl.Herald Tribune

Bendy cucumbers make a comeback - The Scotsman

All these are about the recent decision by the EU to repeal shape regulations on 26 fruits and vegetables. In other words, forked carrots, curvy cucumbers and apples weighing less than 70g can now be sold. Every year, tons of produce is thrown as it does not measure up to the exacting standards of the EU. For instance, Class I cucumbers must "be reasonably well shaped and practically straight (maximum height of the arc: 10 mm per 10 cm of the length of cucumber)". Thankfully, in these times of hardship, sense has prevailed.