I remember news coverage debunking the claim that the EU regulated the shape of bananas and cucumbers. What actually happened is that existing trade standards were harmonized. When you go shopping for vegetables at a German supermarket, sometimes the price tag will say "Trade class A" or "Trade class B". Those trade classes are what's harmonized. Bent cucumbers aren't outruled, they're just categorized into a lower trade class in a way that's consistent across the European market. This benefits supermarket operators because, if their supplier offers "trade class A" cucumbers, they have a pretty solid idea how much cucumbers are going to fit in each crate and can plan their logistics more tightly.

So no bean-counting nonsense here, just the benefits of standardization. Nobody would be angry at the EU for standardizing screw sizes, for example.

No they didn't: https://wayback.archive-it.org/11980/20200128075524/https://...

Main statements for visibility: "The only restriction is on the class denomination, and as such cucumbers are categorised by class with reference to specific standards for each class, including the degree of curve."

"It must be made clear that the demand for these standards came from the industry itself"