It only took them 7 years

[Cliphead]

the Food and Agricultural Organisation and the World Health Organisation have decided - after seven years of debate - what qualifies as a proper tomato.

The ruling means tomatoes may be round, ribbed, oblong or elongated, or can be cherry tomatoes or cocktail tomatoes. Other characteristics include being clean, whole, fresh in appearance, and free from foreign smells and pests.

Didn't know there was any other kind FFS

Linky

[NickFitz]

I saw that story, but what I thought was even weirder was that

'To be subject to VAT, a product "must be wholly, or substantially wholly, made from the potato".

'But he said that Pringles did not meet these criteria - being made from potato flour, corn flour, wheat starch and rice flour together with fat and emulsifier, salt and seasoning, with a potato content of about 42%.'

So in other words, food made predominantly from minimally-processed natural ingredients (potato, vegetable oil, salt) is subject to VAT, whereas the mishmash of highly processed food-like substances that is Pringles is VAT-free.

Way to encourage a healthy diet, HMG

[Cliphead]

I saw that story, but what I thought was even weirder was that

'To be subject to VAT, a product "must be wholly, or substantially wholly, made from the potato".

'But he said that Pringles did not meet these criteria - being made from potato flour, corn flour, wheat starch and rice flour together with fat and emulsifier, salt and seasoning, with a potato content of about 42%.'

So in other words, food made predominantly from minimally-processed natural ingredients (potato, vegetable oil, salt) is subject to VAT, whereas the mishmash of highly processed food-like substances that is Pringles is VAT-free.

Way to encourage a healthy diet, HMG

Hasn't it always been the case that fast food, junk food etc is cheaper than decent healthy food? A visit to Iceland (not the country), confirms this for me.

[NickFitz]

Hasn't it always been the case that fast food, junk food etc is cheaper than decent healthy food? A visit to Iceland (not the country), confirms this for me.

Yes, but that's primarily due to economies of scale, being able to use poorer-quality ingredients due to processing and additives, and so forth.

I'm objecting to the fact that the (marginally) more natural food attracts VAT, while the pre-digested garbage is VAT-free. This makes no sense at all.