In order for Norwegian strawberries to be picked and put on the shelves, supermarket chains require the fruit to reach a diameter of at least 28 millimetres. This means that the smaller strawberries are not getting picked this year in Norway and are just left rotting in the fields.
This has aroused outrage in the country, where a debate is running in the media. A Norwegian strawberry producer, Hans Julius Sanne, explains that several tonnes of small strawberries have been just left to rot. "We have large amounts of them this year, and I cannot understand that the season is already over," he said, adding that "the weather has been especially hot this season, and this increases the number of smaller strawberries."
"It is sad. Had the chains demanded not using pesticides and such, it would have been something else. But the size,... it seems completely pointless," says Marit Arnstad. "It is important that food is produced with as few chemicals as possible and that it has good taste; how it looks should not matter," she explains.
Paradoxically, many Norwegians state that small strawberries actually have a better taste. Julius Sanne explains that "if you cut large berries in half, you can see that the flesh is often white, and without much flavour. Small berries are often dark red throughout."
To test whether strawberries are large enough, a metal ring is used. The berries that are small enough to go through it cannot be sold.
Source: nyhederne.tv2.dk
