7 month old new potatoes sold in supermarkets

Until now, there was no standard definition of new potatoes. Picture: Getty

And the inquiry by South Ayrshire Council found that some of Britain’s biggest supermarket chains have been misleading customers about the freshness of the product, with many “new” potatoes actually being months old.

An industry standard description for what constitutes a “new potato” is now to be introduced across the UK by industry body the Potato Council.

The investigation was launched last year after a customer from Ayr, George Norris, complained to the council’s trading standards and environmental health service. He said he believed spuds on sale as new potatoes had been stored for prolonged periods after harvest.

Mr Norris found that there was no legal or useful definition for new potatoes and identified the need for such a description, saying it would benefit retailers, consumers and regulators.

Ayrshire officials took this up with the Potato Council, which confirmed there was no agreed industry standard definition.

The local authority monitored the sale of new potatoes by eight supermarkets locally – Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco – between December 2012 and March this year, and asked for planting and harvesting information.

In each of the 24 samples from the six retailers who responded, the potatoes had been harvested some time before going on sale. In one case, spuds harvested in August 2012 did not go on sale until March 2013, but were still described as new.

The council took its concerns to a number of industry bodies and, as a result, the Potato Council has drafted a description and guidelines on what counts as a “new potato”.

It will be one that has been specially grown and harvested early, packed full of taste and with a thin skin or one you can rub off with a finger.

Caroline Evans, from the Potato Council, said: “Our description of a new potato means customers know they’re enjoying potatoes at their seasonal best and if your supermarket adopts the description, you can be sure of what you are buying.”

Leading retailers are being urged to adopt the guidelines.

Mr Norris said: “I’m very pleased … that the council committed to a thorough investigation, which has had a positive outcome and I will follow any developments with interest.”

John McDowall, of South Ayrshire Council, said: “When we buy new potatoes, we have an expectation that they will have been lifted out of the ground shortly before going on sale.

“With the introduction of the new industry standard description, we can all hope that we’ll get exactly that when we buy new potatoes in the future.”

The investigation found that Tesco was the worst offender and was selling potatoes which were seven months old. Most of the other “new” potatoes sampled as part of the council investigation were found to be between four and five months old.

Yesterday, Tesco said it would abide by the new standard and look at re-labelling products.

A spokeswoman said: “New or salad potatoes are popular with our customers all year round.

“We would love to be able to supply freshly lifted new potatoes year-round from UK growers, but due to the nature of the growing season, this isn’t possible, so we use cold storage to ensure we can always meet customer demand.”