I often wonder about the choice of variety names that appear on the shelves. In many cases, there are indications that marketing executives have come up with an attractive concept to help tempt the consumer, while in the process the original meaning has got lost on the way.

A couple of examples that came to the fore this week were in the salad category.

Morrisons, in the ever-widening tomato choice under its Best label, is featuring Dolce Rosso priced at £1.48 for 220g. Anyone with a smattering of linguistic skills can work out the product came from Italy (if I am right, it translates as Sweet Red). But a closer inspection proves that the contents, in small print, are actually Piccolo tomatoes, which are stocked by several other major multiples.

Another case where the description is more subtle turned up at Tesco under its Finest label, with a way of distinguishing mini orange peppers within the range, priced at £1 for 120g. The Spanish crop is described as Baby Sweetbite Peppers, which I suppose offers continuity if the source should change.

Another interesting description now widely adopted is that certain products - mainly confined to fruit, it seems - commonly carry the message that they represent new crop. There is no mistaking this very clear message at Lidl, where Moroccan strawberries were on offer at £1.49 for 250g. But with this season already well underway, it poses the question how long such “new crop” announcements by the retailers retain their accuracy.

One product that is available year round where this does not apply is the mushroom industry, with freshness being the best criteria to describe quality when it comes to buttons, cups and opens. It is less obvious, however, when approaching some of the more exotic types, where the best-before date has a real value. A case in point is at Waitrose, where clusters of Buna Shimeji are grown by specialist producer Livesey Brothers and marketed under their own brand. Also known as Beech Brown, they cost £1.99 for 150g minimum weight.

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