Uniquely shaped or curvy isn’t the best look for produce. Retailers want them to be “pretty” and uniform on the shelves. When a fruit or vegetable does not fit into
a standard case, it gets rejected.
20 billion pounds of cosmetically imperfect or unharvested fruits and vegetables are wasted each year.
Here are the top 5 reasons why:
Color changes occur for a variety of reasons, including weather, seasonality, storage, and more. It rarely changes flavor or quality, but retailers will reject variations.
When there is too much produce to sell, transport, or store, it's thrown away. The WakWay Farm is finding new distribution outlets and creating new products to eliminate the financial loss of viable and edible produce.
Is there such thing as too small or too big? Retailer specs define produce. So, when a fruit or vegetable does not fit into a standard case, it gets rejected.
Taste of the produce is what should be considered, not blemishes or marks that occur during growth or transport.
But retailers will reject those with any outside imperfections.