ABSTRACT
In 1926 a government laboratory was set up adjacent to the wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Covent Garden, London. This was to enable a team of plant pathologists to identify diseases and disorders in imported fruit (1). 'Previously', it was explained, 'no attempt at scientific identification was made, and the descriptions "wasty", "wet and wasty" and "frozen" were used to cover a wide range of diseased conditions. In the absence of accurate diagnosis it was inevitable that there should be a good deal of misunderstanding amongst growers, shipping companies, and salesmen as to the actual causes of wastage, and that little progress should be made towards its prevention'. That was written in 1930. After much useful research and advisory work, the laboratory was closed down in the early 1970s, and the catch-all term 'wasty' re-entered the English language.
