Already at the end of April you can come across offers for the sale of fresh strawberries. Prices? Currently, this purchase must be allocated between 28 and 38 PLN per kilo. It seems a lot, but on the other hand the longing for the taste of Polish summer is invaluable. But is it really our local specialty, or rather the goods imported from the south of Europe? How to distinguish whether strawberries are actually Polish or rather Spanish, Greek?
As every year, before our domestic fruit wakes up on the market for good, traders are not idle. They quickly realize that Poles throw themselves at everything that is red and shiny. Imported Strawberries from Greece, Spain or Morocco So they land in boxes with the label “straight from the Polish field”.
This is no longer just replacing names – this is the whole operation: fictitious farms, counterfeit logos, even labels with producer numbers are invented. Some sellers go even further – they blur the traces of the original country of origin, and the customer stays with a fruit that tastes somehow, and earlier he traveled a long way to find a local bazaar.
It seems that it is difficult to distinguish domestic fruit from foreign. In fact, it is from detecting this type of fraud Special control, for which the commercial quality inspection of agri-food products. And how can you verify the authenticity of products at the market yourself?
1
Imported strawberries usually have large, simple, stale stalks. No wonder – a few days pass before they reach Poland. Polish? Broken in the morning, sold in the afternoon. Fresh, green, elastic stalk.
2. Aromat i smak
Polish strawberry smells like summer. The aroma strikes immediately after bringing the nose to the fruit – especially with the peduncle. Imported? It is often deprived of this intensely sweet smell.
3. The appearance matters
Polish fruits are very red, shiny and even. Imports can be too large, pale with a peduncle, sometimes they look like plastic. The interior of Polish strawberries is also red – not whitish or watery.
4. Touch
Foreign fruits are often soft, as if tired of travel. Polish – firm, juicy, but not too much. You can gently touch the fruit, but while maintaining hygiene and respect for the seller.
5. Ask sellers – this is your consumer duty!
If in the bazaar or in the store the seller claims that it is a Polish strawberry – ask:
- What farm?
- What variety?
- Is there contact to the manufacturer?
The answer and even the seller’s reaction will tell you a lot about his goods and intentions. Also remember that this information He is not his good will, but a duty. The trader must clearly inform (in writing) about the country of fruit origin and the class of their quality. There is even a fine for failure to do so.
The season of Polish strawberries usually starts in mid -May. Earlier, fruits from tunnel crops appear, but this is only a preview of real strawberry madness, which is started at the end of May and lasts throughout June. Then the prices fall, the choice is huge, and the taste brings us to mind childhood. These fruits also make preserves, e.g. compotes, jams.
How not to be fooled? A quick consumer guide
- Buy from proven sellers, preferably directly from farmers.
- Use local fairs and initiatives supporting native farms.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
- Learn to recognize the taste and smell of Polish strawberries – you will quickly sensitize the difference.
- If something seems too beautiful to be real – it probably is not.
No, absolutely not! But provided they are honestly marked. If you buy strawberries from Spain, because you can’t wait for the season – that’s okay. You have the right to such a choice, what is more in winter this is your only option. The problem arises when these fruits are sold as Polish. This is not only a scam – it is also a blow to Polish producers who cannot compete with cheap imports, especially if he pretends to be local goods.
Sources: Terazpoczy.pl
