Disturbing reality behind photo of avocados kept in a cardboard crate (2024)

A fresh produce 'rescuer' has revealed the staggering haul of avocados he prevented being tossed into landfill because they were deemed unfit for sale.

Farmers Pick co-founder Josh Ball shared a photo of vast tubs filled to the brim with the fresh produce.

Mr Ball said he intercepts around 4,000kg of avocados from going to landfill every week, and blames the wastefulness on supermarkets.

He said a lot of fresh produce is discarded because of minor blemishes and imperfections.

Last month, 1,600kg worth of avocados from a Queensland farm were dumped in landfill because they had been rejected for superficial reasons.

'The avocados we salvaged had a combination of skin blemishes and were irregular in size and shape,' Mr Ball told Yahoo.

He said other types of fresh produce, including citrus fruits, are also being turfed because of similar cosmetic issues.

Mr Ball said the waste contributes to rising food prices during a cost-of-living crisis because of supply shortages.

'Customers are already struggling to incorporate fresh fruit and veg on their tables due to rising inflation, and this problem is exacerbated by the shortage of fresh produce,' he said.

'On top of this, the price of rejected produce is a hidden factor of the cost of produce in stores. So if we ate everything that was produced, fresh food would probably be cheaper.'

Farmers Pick sells discarded fruits and veggies to customers at a discounted price across several states.

The independent retailer estimates around 2.4billion kilograms of produce is rejected every year before the items leave a farm.

Mr Ball urged retailers to take more responsibility to reduce the price of groceries by stopping quality produce from going to waste.

A Coles spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia the supermarket works hard to ensure fresh produce meets the tastes and preferences of customers.

'We offer a range of avocado sizes for our customers to maximise the use of the crop from our farmers including a 5-pack and our loose offering,' the spokeswoman said.

'We assess all produce for eating quality, ripeness, pest damage, appearance and expected shelf life, and are deeply committed to balancing our customer-led fresh produce specifications with minimising food waste'.

'A growing number of our customers recognise that great-tasting fruit and vegetables comes in all shapes and sizes and are increasingly buying from our I'm Perfect range'.

A Woolworths spokesman told Daily Mail the supermarket has measures in place to review the requirements of fresh fruit and vegetables stocked in stores.

'Our produce requirements are adaptable and respond to the quantity and availability of fruit and vegetables in the market, which is affected by seasonality, supply and weather, the spokesman said.

'This allows us to work with growers to meet customer demand, while also reducing food waste from unsold fruit and veg in our stores - and avoiding unnecessary food miles and emissions associated with transporting it'.

The spokesman said Woolworth's Odd Bunch Range offers customers imperfect fruits and vegetables at cheaper prices.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Aldi for comment.

Shocking findings by think tank The Australian Institute revealed that Aussie households are wasting almost $20billion a year throwing out food.

The report, which was published last year, showed that the major supermarket retailers rake in more than a billion dollars from people buying more food than they need.

The report attributes strict cosmetic standards on the appearances of fruit and vegetables as the reason for products being wasted.

The price of food has risen by 17 per cent since March 2020 according to figures by the ABS.

Aussies are struggling with the cost of living with inflation well above the target 2 to 3 per cent target range.

The consumer price index (CPI) grew by 3.8 per cent in the year to June, putting it even further above the Reserve Bank's 2 to 3 per cent target.