I see Tesco UK has started to sell unwashed potatoes for the first time since the 1970s.

The supermarket giant is to trial the sale of unwashed potatoes in a bid to reduce food waste.

The thinking behind selling unwashed potatoes is that the soil helps block out light and slows down decay, potentially extending their shelf life from five to 11 days.

Tesco bosses may think they’ve made a ground breaking discovery here, but I challenge them to go to any rural Irish shop where unwashed spuds are standard.

Still, it’s nice to see supermarkets ease their stringent quality specifications on suppliers for a change. It’s one less hoop for growers to jump through when dealing with supermarkets.