The chain are say their are committed to increasing their wonky fruit and veg offering by over 50 per cent with over 30 types soon to be on offer.
The wonky chillies will have defects including missing stalks, imperfect colour (not perfectly red or green) or smaller size but will have the same hot and fruity flavour.
Priced at 61p per 100g compared to £1 per 100g for Morrisons standard chillies, the new release will be a cheaper alternative for budget-conscious customers.
Morrisons say they made the pledges to sell more wonky, over-sized, under-sized and blemished seasonal fruit and veg including apples, avocados, courgettes, potatoes and carrots, after listening to customers’ continuing concerns about food waste.
Picture: Morrisons
Products will have been selected from farmers’ crops because they are misshapen, have skin blemishes or growth cracks, or are much smaller or larger than average. In most cases, Wonky will taste the same as Class 1 veg and enables growers to sell their whole crop and therefore reduce edible food waste.
In its Wonky Manifesto, which was published today 4th April), the firm said it will commit to:
• Increasing the range of seasonal wonky products by 50 per cent to 33, including wonky chillies and kiwis
• Launch its first frozen wonky product - a 1kg Wonky Berry Mix
• Sell wonky versions of exotic fruit and veg such as avocado
• Advertise Morrisons Wonky fruit and veg on TV for the first time to boost further the acceptability of buying Class 2 veg
• Make wonky more affordable than its Class 1 equivalent[2] to help customers afford to eat more of their 5-a-day - with the current national average consumption of fruit & veg being just two and a half -a-day
• Source wonky fruit and veg from farmers at home and abroad - this year we aim to work with 22 countries
• Increase the number of real farms where we buy the ‘whole crop’ to nearly 300 by 2019 - so Morrisons buys all the crop, rather than just a portion of it.
Drew Kirk, fruit and veg director at Morrisons said: “We have listened to customers who have told us they want to be given every opportunity to reduce food waste. So we’re providing a much bigger choice of naturally wonky or blemished products - so everyone can be involved in reducing waste and afford to eat more healthily.”
