> Bananas have always been classified by quality and size for international trade. Because the standards, set by individual governments and the industry, were confusing, the European Commission was asked to draw up new rules.
> Commission regulation 2257/94 decreed that bananas in general should be “free from malformation or abnormal curvature”. Those sold as “extra class” must be perfect, “class 1” can have “slight defects of shape” and “class 2” can have full-scale “defects of shape”.
> Nothing is banned under the regulation, which sets grading rules requested by industry to make sure importers – including UK wholesalers and supermarkets – know exactly what they will be getting when they order a box of bananas.
There was never a “bendy banana” ban from the EU.
This was a lie invented by Boris Johnson in his newspaper columns in the 90’s to blame the bogeyman that was the EU for all his woes.
What makes the insults more stupid is that David Cameron spent £5 million looking for EU laws to ditch between 2012 and 2014 – the ‘Balance of Competences Review’ – **and found nothing. Unsurprisingly, given the level of anti-EU hysteria on the Tory benches, the Government quietly buried the report.**
Excerpt:^1
>EU rules regulating the curvature of bananas will remain in British law despite a government purge of Brussels regulations.
>The famous Commission regulation 1333/2011 had been due to fall off UK statute books automatically at the end of the year until a government U-turn this week.
>Instead, a list of regulations explicitly specified for removal or reform will be listed on the bill. The regulation on the marketing of bananas is not among those listed.
>The regulation has sometimes been the subject of hyperbolic reporting in the British press claiming the EU had “banned bendy bananas”.
>In reality, it is only the most bendy of bananas that have faced the wrath of Brussels.
>The “abnormal curvature” rule is included in a list of minimum standards laid down in the legislation, which will now become domestic British law.
>[Commission Regulation 2257/94] notes that “Class 1 bananas can have ‘slight defects of shape’ and Class 2 bananas full-on ‘defects of shape’”.
Would that be the ‘EU bendy banana’ regulation which was less strict than the bendy banana regulations already in force in the UK at the time.
I for one am glad to hear we’re keeping the bendy bananas. They really hit the spot.
Makes it a much more satisfying tool to shove up my ass (Condom on, lube used)
So cheers Rishi
Sadly, few people can afford bananas these days, and what bananas are available seem to go overripe very quickly.
WTF I know people who were furious about bendy bannanas. They must be so pissed right now. I swear it was like top 3 reason people claim we need Brexit
There is a serious point about food waste within the EU that both sides conveniently ignore, such as the so called butter mountain and wine lake which cost EU taxpayers a fortune to subsidise European farmers. The bendy banana debate was more of a catchphrase shorthand to refer to this kind of thing. UK supermarkets bad in similar ways leaving “ugly” vegetables rotting in the fields until the wonky veg line came out fairly recently.
Like most things, good intentions (food security, supply and demand matching) end up with expensive and wasteful consequences
Brexiteers live by the bendy banana, die by the bendy banana
Over the years I have lost track of the whole bendy banana thing… did the UK leave because we could/could not buy bendy bananas, or was it because before 1974 bananas in the UK was straight British bananas from the plantations of Yorkshire or somewhere, and the EU forced us to buy bendy bananas from Jamaica or something….?
There was a woman on Question Time who could or couldn’t find correctly shaped, non-EU bananas in Tesco or something.
I’m sure that nice Farage – salt of the Earth, everyman, sorted it out….yes?
NB: there’s a dose of sarcasm here, but seriously I have lost track of what the whole point of this was other than some ******* to complain about the EU….which was probably the point of this in the first place. <sigh>
Oh flaming ell hallelujah never did I fort there was enyfin to be offended by by avin’ a bendy banana guvnor
Have you ever seen a *straight* banana? (see what I did there)
Now that has got your brain cells tinglin’
The whole “Bendy bananas” thing is the sole reason my mother wanted to leave the EU…
I can’t wait to see her reaction to this
Huh? I thought this was the whole reason we ‘got Brexit done’ in the first place. Well, that’s a turn up for the books, guess the whole thing is pointless now.
WHAT? This is the ONLY reason I voted for Brexit !! Outraged !!
/s
But this was the whole reason my granny voted leave!
Ngl I voted for Brexit and even I could never make sense of the bendy bananas thing. It’s always felt to me like a bit of a meme.
Do you have a loicence for that curve in your banana sir?
HAHA! This is the one my dad always spouted off about.
Well if we are keeping the bendy bananas regulations, can we also keep the 18 regulations on toothbrushes highlighted by our glorious Brexit leader, Nigel Farage, before the Brexit referendum? I like my CE compliant toothbrush.
Fuck me. 350mill cunts from Turkey and bendy bananas. They literally ran a campaign on that
What about the prawn cocktail crisps and the euro-flush?
Its harder for a tory peer to stick a bent banana up his bum though
“free from malformation or abnormal curvature”
Brexiters want bananas to resemble their……
Case this is still news shows how much nonsense we’ve adopted as acceptable
25 comments
> Bananas have always been classified by quality and size for international trade. Because the standards, set by individual governments and the industry, were confusing, the European Commission was asked to draw up new rules.
> Commission regulation 2257/94 decreed that bananas in general should be “free from malformation or abnormal curvature”. Those sold as “extra class” must be perfect, “class 1” can have “slight defects of shape” and “class 2” can have full-scale “defects of shape”.
> Nothing is banned under the regulation, which sets grading rules requested by industry to make sure importers – including UK wholesalers and supermarkets – know exactly what they will be getting when they order a box of bananas.
There was never a “bendy banana” ban from the EU.
This was a lie invented by Boris Johnson in his newspaper columns in the 90’s to blame the bogeyman that was the EU for all his woes.
What makes the insults more stupid is that David Cameron spent £5 million looking for EU laws to ditch between 2012 and 2014 – the ‘Balance of Competences Review’ – **and found nothing. Unsurprisingly, given the level of anti-EU hysteria on the Tory benches, the Government quietly buried the report.**
Excerpt:^1
>EU rules regulating the curvature of bananas will remain in British law despite a government purge of Brussels regulations.
>The famous Commission regulation 1333/2011 had been due to fall off UK statute books automatically at the end of the year until a government U-turn this week.
>Instead, a list of regulations explicitly specified for removal or reform will be listed on the bill. The regulation on the marketing of bananas is not among those listed.
>The regulation has sometimes been the subject of hyperbolic reporting in the British press claiming the EU had “banned bendy bananas”.
>In reality, it is only the most bendy of bananas that have faced the wrath of Brussels.
>The “abnormal curvature” rule is included in a list of minimum standards laid down in the legislation, which will now become domestic British law.
>[Commission Regulation 2257/94] notes that “Class 1 bananas can have ‘slight defects of shape’ and Class 2 bananas full-on ‘defects of shape’”.
^1 Jon Stone (12 May 2023), “UK government decides to keep EU ‘bendy bananas’ regulation despite Brexit”, https://www.aol.co.uk/news/uk-government-decides-keep-eu-102158978.html
Would that be the ‘EU bendy banana’ regulation which was less strict than the bendy banana regulations already in force in the UK at the time.
I for one am glad to hear we’re keeping the bendy bananas. They really hit the spot.
Makes it a much more satisfying tool to shove up my ass (Condom on, lube used)
So cheers Rishi
Sadly, few people can afford bananas these days, and what bananas are available seem to go overripe very quickly.
WTF I know people who were furious about bendy bannanas. They must be so pissed right now. I swear it was like top 3 reason people claim we need Brexit
There is a serious point about food waste within the EU that both sides conveniently ignore, such as the so called butter mountain and wine lake which cost EU taxpayers a fortune to subsidise European farmers. The bendy banana debate was more of a catchphrase shorthand to refer to this kind of thing. UK supermarkets bad in similar ways leaving “ugly” vegetables rotting in the fields until the wonky veg line came out fairly recently.
Like most things, good intentions (food security, supply and demand matching) end up with expensive and wasteful consequences
Brexiteers live by the bendy banana, die by the bendy banana
Over the years I have lost track of the whole bendy banana thing… did the UK leave because we could/could not buy bendy bananas, or was it because before 1974 bananas in the UK was straight British bananas from the plantations of Yorkshire or somewhere, and the EU forced us to buy bendy bananas from Jamaica or something….?
There was a woman on Question Time who could or couldn’t find correctly shaped, non-EU bananas in Tesco or something.
I’m sure that nice Farage – salt of the Earth, everyman, sorted it out….yes?
NB: there’s a dose of sarcasm here, but seriously I have lost track of what the whole point of this was other than some ******* to complain about the EU….which was probably the point of this in the first place. <sigh>
Oh flaming ell hallelujah never did I fort there was enyfin to be offended by by avin’ a bendy banana guvnor
Have you ever seen a *straight* banana? (see what I did there)
Now that has got your brain cells tinglin’
The whole “Bendy bananas” thing is the sole reason my mother wanted to leave the EU…
I can’t wait to see her reaction to this
Huh? I thought this was the whole reason we ‘got Brexit done’ in the first place. Well, that’s a turn up for the books, guess the whole thing is pointless now.
WHAT? This is the ONLY reason I voted for Brexit !! Outraged !!
/s
But this was the whole reason my granny voted leave!
Ngl I voted for Brexit and even I could never make sense of the bendy bananas thing. It’s always felt to me like a bit of a meme.
Do you have a loicence for that curve in your banana sir?
HAHA! This is the one my dad always spouted off about.
Well if we are keeping the bendy bananas regulations, can we also keep the 18 regulations on toothbrushes highlighted by our glorious Brexit leader, Nigel Farage, before the Brexit referendum? I like my CE compliant toothbrush.
Fuck me. 350mill cunts from Turkey and bendy bananas. They literally ran a campaign on that
What about the prawn cocktail crisps and the euro-flush?
Its harder for a tory peer to stick a bent banana up his bum though
“free from malformation or abnormal curvature”
Brexiters want bananas to resemble their……
Case this is still news shows how much nonsense we’ve adopted as acceptable