AN organic vegetable box scheme has taken delivery of six tonnes of lemons which two major supermarkets had rejected.

Riverford Organic Farmers agreed to buy the organic lemons to deliver to their customers across the North of England alongside their seasonal veg boxes.

Dale Robinson, technical manager, said: "The lemons are slightly green in areas, due to not enough difference between night and daytime temperatures, and have a few scars from hail damage.

"We’ve had our team of in-house chefs check them out and inside they are beautiful, ripe, aromatic lemons with plenty of juice and flavour.

"This is another example of a crazy food system that has forgotten its producing food, not kitchen ornaments."

Peter Richardson, Riverford’s farmer at Home Farm, Newby Wiske, said: "Our customers love knowing exactly where the food on their plate has come from; we can tell them who grew it, how they grew it, and when it was picked.

"This connection means they enjoy getting unusual shaped veg that has been grown for flavour, not cosmetic perfection, and having the reassurance that our farmers are paid fairly for their produce, even if it is not aesthetically perfect."

Riverford prioritises flavour not appearance and don’t have strict size and shape criteria to meet as the supermarkets do – as a result they have far less waste.