We analysed the contents of a typical big-name supermarket fruit and vegetable basket in December
Beetroot
Variety: Ready-cooked; vacuum- packed.
Origin: France.
Distance travelled: 550 miles (885km).
Harvested: September.
Treatment: Grown with aid of nitrogen fertilisers; sprayed with pesticides and fungicides. Graded mechanically. Chilled (within 24 hours) to -5 c; stored while dirty in a ventilated warehouse at 1-2 c and high humidity. Will keep four to six months. Washed in chlorinated water, then potable water. Topped by machine, steam-peeled, boiled. Placed in plastic sleeve with air removed by suction. In-store shelf life: four-five months.
Carrots
Variety: 'Carrot batons, ready to eat'; sealed in cellophane pack. Seven times more expensive than loose carrots.
Origin: UK.
Distance travelled: Estimate: 200 miles.
Harvested: Five days ago.
Treatment: Sprayed with iprodione (a fungicide) and various pesticides. Taken by lorry to packhouse to be washed and cooled in chlorinated water. At processing plant, chlorine-washed again and rinsed in potable water. Dried, peeled and cut into batons by machine. Packed in heat-sealed cellophane bag. Taken by refrigerated lorry to stores. In-store shelf life: four days.
Potatoes
Origin: UK
Distance travelled: 108 miles (174km)
Harvested: September
Treatment: Sprayed with Aldicarb (a pesticide) and fungicide. Dug up, hosed down, transported 15 miles to packhouse, scrubbed and 'barrel-washed' in tumblers with chlorinated water; rinsed in potable water. Dried and graded by machine, boxed and stored. 'Cured' for two weeks at 20 c and high humidity, then kept at 2-3 C and 'gassed' with a dense fog of the sprout inhibitor CIPC (chlorpropham). After this, will keep for 12 months.
Chard
Variety: Wilts quickly so available only in mixed salad bags.
Origin: Not on label
Distance travelled: Estimate: 100 miles
Harvested: Nine days ago
Treatment: The insecticides acephate and cypermethrin, and the fungicides dicloran and iprodione are routinely used on salad crops. Cut, washed in chlorinated water, dried by centrifuge and mixed with other leaves. Placed in Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) in which oxygen and carbon dioxide levels have been altered to slow deterioration. Taken by lorry to distribution point.
Apples
Variety: Pink Lady
Origin: Australia
Distance travelled: 10,700 miles (17,220km)
Harvested: April (the southern hemisphere's autumn)
Treatment: Sprayed with pesticides. Washed with soap and chlorine after harvesting, 'pre-sorted' by eye, then rinsed, dried and placed on a conveyor belt to be graded using cameras; images are analysed by computer for consistency of colour, shape and size. The Class 1 fruit is chilled to 0 C in a sealed room to slow respiration; in controlled atmosphere (CA) storage, oxygen levels are lowered from 21 to 5 per cent, putting the apples to sleep for up to 12 months. Still refrigerated, they are transported to UK by ship.
Mangetouts
Variety: Class I
Origin: Kenya
Distance travelled: 4,333 miles (6,973km)
Harvested: Four days ago
Treatment: Sprayed with pesticides to preserve appearance. Picked, graded and shrink-wrapped in Kenya. Taken by refrigerated lorry to airport (perishable produce are always air-freighted). On the flight, each 170g pack burns its own weight in aviation fuel. On arrival in UK, they are taken by lorry to a central depot, then to stores, never leaving the cold chain.
Asparagus
Variety: Class I
Origin: Peru
Distance travelled: 6,516 miles (10,486km)
Harvested: Four days ago
Treatment: As above (substitute Peru for Kenya). Grading is taken to absurd lengths; the width of each stem must be 8-13mm.
Tomatoes
Variety: Shrink-wrapped in a plastic punnet
Origin: Canary Islands
Distance travelled: 1,908 miles (3,071km)
Harvested: Ten days ago
Treatment: Grown hydroponically (in a slab of Rockwool, a byproduct of the loft insulation industry); irrigated with mineral-enriched water in plastic polytunnels. Harvestedwhile still immature, then chilled to remove 'field heat'. In the refrigerated lorry and on the plane, they are kept at exactly 12 C to preserve flavour and aroma without compromising colour. They will ripen in the supermarket. UK shelf life is five to seven days.
Iceberg Lettuce
Origin: Spain
Distance travelled: 1,100 miles (1,770km)
Harvested: Four days ago
Treatment: Sprayed 11 times with up to five chemicals, mostly fungicides (pyrimethanil, cyprodinil, fludioxanil, folpet) to combat mould. Cut by hand, wrapped or bagged in the field to avoid deterioration. Transported to cold store, cooled to 0 C, then transferred to refrigerated lorry for transit by road and ferry. Kept at 0-5 C. Note: If air freighted from US, for every calorie of lettuce , 120 calories of fuel are used.
We analysed the contents of a typical organic box in December from Ashlyns Organic Farm in Essex (01992 525146)
Beetroot
Origin: Ashlyns Organic Farm
Distance travelled: 250 yards
Harvested: Yesterday
Treatment: Lightly hose-washed in the field
Carrots
Origin: Ashlyns Organic
Distance travelled: 250 yards
Harvested: Yesterday
Treatment: Hose-washed in the field
Potatoes
Variety: Santé
Origin: Ashlyns Organic Farm
Distance travelled: 1 mile
Harvested: September
Treatment: Lightly washed in potable water with a hose to dislodge soil. Stored for four months in a cool, dry outbuilding. Packed in re-usable cardboard box.
Swiss Chard
Origin: Ashlyns Farm
Distance travelled: 250 yards
Harvested: This morning
Treatment: None
Apples
Variety: Cox's Orange Pippin
Origin: Little Walden, Essex
Distance travelled: 28 miles (45km)
Harvested: September
Treatment: Three months in a cool, dry store room. Transported by lorry in boxes
Savoy
Origin: Ashlyns Organic Farm
Distance travelled: 200 yards
Harvested: Today
Treatment: None
Onions
Origin: Ashlyns Organic Farm
Distance travelled: 300 yards
Harvested: Yesterday
Treatment: None
Parsnips
Origin: Ashlyns Farm
Distance travelled: 250 yards
Harvested: Yesterday
Treatment: Hose-washed with water in the field
Cauliflower
Variety: Tower
Origin: Ashlyns Farm
Distance travelled: 200 yards
Harvested: Yesterday
Treatment: None
Mushrooms
Variety: Brown, grown for flavour not appearance
Origin: Ipswich
Distance travelled: 55 miles (89km)
Harvested: Yesterday
Treatment: None Transported by lorry in boxes, then placed in brown paper bags at Ashlyns and packed with other produce
Leeks
Origin: Church Farm, Flitton, Bedfordshire
Distance travelled: 56 miles (91km)
Harvested: Yesterday
Treatment: Lightly-hosed
Pears
Variety: Conference
Origin: Netherlands
Distance travelled: 256 miles (412km)
Harvested: September
Treatment: Kept for three months in a cool, dry store room. Transported by lorry in boxes, then in the refrigerated hold of a ship
Clementines
Origin: Almeria, Spain
Distance travelled: 1,034 miles (1,664km)
Harvested: June
Treatment: Kept for six months in a cool, dry store room. Transported by lorry in boxes, then by ship
Oranges
Variety: Navelina
Origin: Almeria, Spain
Distance travelled: 1,034 miles (1,664km)
Harvested: July
Treatment: Kept for five months in a cool, dry store room Transported by lorry in boxes, then by ship
