'Wonky' Fruit and Vegetables Criticized for Plastic Packaging

It’s something that most of us are guilty of when shopping in the produce aisle. We sift around through the bins of fruits and vegetables to try to find the best looking items and passing over the ones that may look a bit … well … wonky.

Pomegranates are just one example of the fruits and vegetables in Morrisons' Wonky line of produce. Image via Morrisons Media Centre. | Credit: Morrisons Media Centre

But there’s nothing actually wrong with a fruit or vegetable that’s a little misshapen, and these products will typically taste exactly the same as their more traditionally shaped counterparts. Unfortunately however, when these products aren't purchased, they become waste, adding to the alarming global rates of food waste.

In an attempt to curb this wastage, Morrisons, a U.K.-based grocery retailer, launched its line of “Naturally Wonky” fruits and vegetables, which consists of these misshapen produce items packaged up and sold for less than the full price of regularly shaped items. With the launch of the Naturally Wonky line, it appeared that Morrisons was on track toward a successful sustainability-focused initiative. But, despite the goodwill that the Wonky line seemed poised to generate, Morrisons has faced social media backlash over the plastic packaging being used for these products.

According to The Daily Mail, the campaign was initially praised for its initiative to reduce food waste, but when consumers realized Naturally Wonky products utilized plastic packaging, they went to social media to share their concerns about plastic’s impact on the environment and ocean pollution. See below for a sample of some of the social media posts that have surfaced:

Selling wonky vegetables is a great idea @Morrisons it saves odd shaped vegetables being thrown away. But why are they in plastic? Why not loose and use paper bags. #environment #plasticwaste

— lesleyb (@Lesley_London) April 29, 2018

Morrison’s ‘wonky’ range of fruit and veg, great idea but why so much plastic wrapping?

— mtheb (@mlandtr78) April 28, 2018

@Morrisons naturally wonky veg, wrapped unnaturally in plastic. #naturallywonky #plasticpollution

— Andrew Dickson (@AndrewDickson85) April 27, 2018

packagePRINTING Perspective: Morrisons should absolutely be applauded for this initiative, as food waste statistics have reached some staggering numbers. (One third of all food produced for human consumption, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United States.) Any effort toward keeping perfectly edible food from being disposed of before it’s even purchased seems like a step in the right direction, and Morrisons has been able to create a campaign around this issue with a fun, lighthearted marketing push.

From an environmental perspective, it’s no secret that many plastic flexible packages are not able to enter the curbside recycling stream. That is certainly a problem, and it’s one that the flexible packaging industry is working hard to solve. Morrisons has also recently stepped up its efforts, announcing an initiative that by 2025, plastic packaging utilized for store brand products will either be reusable, recycle or compostable.

In the meantime however, it makes sense for Morrisons to use plastic packaging for its Naturally Wonky line for precisely the same reason it launched the initiative in the first place — reducing food waste. Flexible plastic packaging has demonstrated a distinct advantage in being able to significantly extend the life of food products, something that the environmentally conscious consumer should appreciate. (Check out these statistics from the Flexible Packaging Association.) While Morrisons has received some recognition for its use of plastic packaging — take for example, the below tweet from British botanist James Wong @Botanygeek — perhaps some additional on-pack communication as to why it can be beneficial to package produce in plastic could have curbed some of the negative backlash.

To all the people furious about wonky veg (a great idea to cut food waste) being wrapped in plastic, I tell you what.

Take a two carrots. Seal one in plastic. Leave the other loose. Pop them in the fridge. And tell me what they look like in a fortnight.
https://t.co/s5ceLnV1d9

— James Wong (@Botanygeek) April 25, 2018