Seemingly shackled with a love/hate consumer relationship, there are few vegetables that evoke more emotion than Brussels sprouts.

But at least they are being given a fair crack of the whip at Marks & Spencer. Not only is the new Flower Sprout, bred by Tozer Seeds and dubbed “our latest discovery”, now on sale at £1.99 for 160g, but baby trimmed buttons have been given a makeover by the supplier, the Haines family. Millimetrically graded, they are presented on a single-layer tray, priced at £1.59 for 200g, and would do credit to the confectionery industry.

Another presentation that caught my eye was vine cherry tomatoes at Tesco, priced at £1.20 for 300g. Initially, it seems amazing that horticultural science has reached a point where eight fruits can be harvested consistently. But there are other points of interest. The unnamed variety is described as “aromatic” - a term more associated with melons - and the source, unusually, turned out to be Senegal.

Staying with salads, we have obviously reached a point where Little Gem no longer enjoys a sole position. The number of hybrids is still increasing. One of the latest at Waitrose is a red variation called Duet, at £1.39. And to make the point, they are packed in pairs.

There have been numerous types of Mediterranean figs on the fruit counters for many years, with experts claiming that black varieties from Turkey are the best. However, M&S has turned to South Africa at this time of year for a baby variety, adding to its Perfectly Ripe range. I suspect, with a name like Ronde de Bordeaux, priced at £2.99 for 180g, that it originated in France, but that is the story of the fruit trade.

And finally, it’s a fair bet that not all of Sainsbury’s customers read the trade press or got caught up with the reports of its successful Fairtrade conference. So to reach its wider audience, who can blame the retailer for a degree of trumpet-blowing.

Apart from posters in store, there was a large free-standing poster outside the entrance to my local outlet with the message: “Thank you for helping us become the biggest retailer of Fairtrade bananas.” It also featured smiling Caribbean growers, who are obviously in agreement.

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