Does it matter?

So your bagged salad was picked a few days ago in Spain and washed with chlorine to keep it crisp – but while that may not be as appealing as thinking of a farmer in a nearby village digging it up and dusting off the leaves, does it cause any problems? For starters, safety shouldn’t be an issue, says Melanie Hargraves, a registered dietitian and nutrition scientist for the British Nutrition Foundation. “The UK food chain has regulations in place, which should ensure the foods we buy are safe to eat.” That not-so-fresh fish may not be quite as firm or tasty as it should be – but it’s unlikely to do you any harm.

However, from a nutritional perspective, there may be an impact. “Once picked, the content of some micronutrients can start to decline in fruits and vegetables, so the nutrient content of foods from abroad may be lower,” says Hargraves. But Hargraves feels what’s most important is to make sure you get enough – only 31% of adults in the UK are getting the five recommended daily portions of fruit and vegetables, she points out, which is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. So if eating out-of-season produce helps you get there, fine.

Provenance isn’t just about nutrition, though – it’s also about food

“The nutrient content of fruit and vegetables from abroad may be lower”

ethics. The more local your food, the fewer miles it’s clocked up to get to you. Then there are welfare concerns. Supermarkets should be able to provide information about, for example, the farms their chickens and eggs come from, and how the birds are looked after. You can check websites or ask store managers for more information. But it can be trickier when you’re buying processed foods such as ready-meals, which contain ingredients that may be sourced from different places. And, of course, we don’t always know what we should be looking for. One recent campaign drew attention to the use of slave labour in the supply chain of cheap Thai prawns, with campaigners urging consumers to choose North Atlantic prawns instead. w&h