To the editor:

Am I the only consumer who is disgusted both with the quality of peaches in local groceries and with the dismissive attitudes of produce mangers? Exasperated, I have begun to save receipts and offending peaches for return to the store. Invariably the peaches are mealy, cottony, often rotting from the pit; and we cannot tell by their deceptively beautiful exterior. I have been told at the returns counter that there have been countless complaints; one clerk told me she won’t eat her own employer’s peaches.

I have also been told by a produce manager that the peaches are initially flash frozen which precludes proper ripening. Simple question: if the grocers know this, why are they selling them? Why don’t they cut open and display the disgusting interior of the fruit? They might as well put up a sign telling the consumer that they know these peaches won’t ripen but they are for sale anyway because the majority of people won’t bother to complain, bring them back, or ask for a refund.

Peach lovers of Lawrence unite! Save your receipts; demand your money back. You are paying about 75 cents per peach; you will discard over half of them (or gag trying to choke down that first naÃive bite). When the produce managers report upwards that Lawrence’s consumers won’t tolerate this deceptive treatment, perhaps they will stock edible produce. Grocers can very well provide higher quality without raising their already sky-high prices. Take action! You have nothing to fear but peach-rot itself!

Jan Kozma,

Lawrence