New global tomato standard to ensure buyers get high-quality produce

Tag: whole peeled tomatoes

You say tomato, I say substandard agricultural product.

A UN food safety meeting has agreed on the first global quality measure for tomatoes after more than six years of wrangling over the popular red fruit. "The standard regulates ... quality and handling issues, and even just definition" of what is a tomato, Tom Heilandt of the Food and Agriculture Organization told reporters Friday.

Tomatoes were among 32 items for which new or revised standards were agreed at the weeklong meeting of food and health experts this week in Geneva.

The standards are not legally binding, but under international trade rules countries can refuse to allow the import of products deemed below minimum quality.

"It's not forcing all tomatoes to be the same, but it also recognizes that tomatoes have to have certain characteristics in order to be transported internationally," Heilandt said.

The tomato standard, which matches requirements that many countries already impose on a national level, would also help protect consumers from dangerous products, he said.