UK farmers are facing one of the driest, hottest growing seasons in decades, with predictions of the worst harvest since records began. As a result, fruit and vegetables are emerging misshapen, discoloured or smaller than usual, and supermarkets, keen to avoid empty shelves, are expected to relax their usually strict cosmetic standards on size, shape and colour, meaning shoppers will increasingly see "wonky" produce on sale that growers insist remains perfectly good to eat.

Examples include cauliflowers turning yellow or "sun-tanned" as heat-stressed leaves fail to shield the heads from sunlight, with surplus firm Oddbox reportedly taking 6,000 rejected heads in a single week; cucumbers curling into spirals due to overheating in greenhouses; pak choi riddled with holes from flea beetles, which thrive in hot, dry conditions and can no longer be controlled with as many pesticides; and potatoes growing into knobbly, multi-sectioned tubers when cooler weather follows a heat spell. Growers and industry figures say the produce tastes the same despite the cosmetic defects, and some retailers have already begun loosening their appearance rules to maintain supply.