Impressed by quality of produce on French market

Last week Jan Prinsen visited various shops and markets in France. He was very impressed by the products at the Beaune market, "It has been a long time since I have visited a market that paid so much attention to the presentation and quality of their products."

He continues: "Something else that struck me was the accuracy of the origin of the products. Most of the Charentais melons were, for example, from Spain. Nowhere in this market were the Charentais melons being sold as Cavaillon melons. Apparently, the French do not have a problem with buying or selling Spanish melons if the French melons are not yet ripe. They were even being sold next to one another in some stalls at the market." Jan has visited many markets and has seen Spanish melons being sold as French melons in Belgium at times, "It is regrettable that this sometimes happens."

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Real seasonal products

He makes another comparison to the Belgian markets, "Here in Belgium everyone wants to present a wide range of products, resulting in the real seasonal products not getting the necessary space. The seasonal fruits and vegetables are not put in stalls that are wider than the non-seasonal produce. In the French markets I see less products per stall, but more volume per product."

Jan also saw a lot of organic products at the market, "This is still rare in Belgium. I think there is more demand for organic products in France. I once visited a market in Paris in which all the products were organic. That is really something special."


For more information:
Jan Prinsen
Belgian Fresh Food Institute
belgian.fresh.food.institute@gmail.com
www.belgianfreshfoodinstitute.be