Deprived Europeans now allowed to consume ugly produce

While some Americans mutter about socialism and fret about "big government liberals," it is really Europeans who suffer from a crushing burden of regulation. The common rules that all members of the European Union must follow, the so-called acquis communautaire, run to some 170,000 pages. This comes in addition to other national regulations.

So it comes as a little bit of a surprise that the Eurocrats would choose to eliminate some regulations--on the size and appearance of vegetables and fruits in this case. The EU has heretofore had strict rules that banished all but the most beautiful and shapely of foodstuffs from the shelves of European supermarkets. Individual store managers could even be prosecuted (as three were in 2007) for selling a less-than-comely carrot. To wit:

[It is] illegal for retailers throughout the European Union to sell a forked carrot or a cauliflower less than 4.33 inches in diameter. A Class 1 green asparagus must be green for at least 80 percent of its length. A vine shoot on a bunch of grapes must be less than 1.97 inches.

Now it seems that the desperate times of GDP2 call for a rollback of the EU's produce prettiness laws:

In these days of high food prices and general economic difficulties, consumers should be able to choose from the widest range of products possible.

And of course the relevant EU Minister brings it all back to the favorite fruit of Great Depression Classic, the apple:

It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they are the ‘wrong’ shape. I want to be able to decide whether to buy a big, round, red, class I apple or a less pricey, but just as delicious, small ‘ugly’ apple!