I busily dish out advice to the public, but what would I like to say to the supermarkets? Well, I'll tackle my real bugbear first. Your fish counters. There seems to be no training, no knowledge, just poor quality fish ­ lacklustre, with sunken eyes, dull gills, dry skin and a far too fishy smell. Fresh fish doesn't smell. Far too many labels read this product has been previously frozen' in very small print. And why do you persist in selling herring and mackerel? These two fish more than any others need to be eaten within hours of coming out of the sea. But your fish, so I understand, go from harbour to depot, and only then on to your stores even if the store is only a few miles from the harbour! You don't give enough advice on how to use the fish. Remember the technique? It's called service. Fishmongers used to give it. For this you need staff passionate about the product. But you haven't got them. In my view it's time for radical change, time to subject your fish counters to those in the know and those who care. The fish counters are typical of much that's wrong with you supermarkets. You've blown the small traders away but haven't adequately replaced them. What, at the end of the day, have you really achieved? You have given us our weekly shop under one roof but in doing so have contributed to the destruction of many town centres. This has devastated many livelihoods. Gone are most of the butchers, bakers, greengrocers and fishmongers, and gone is the quality, service and freshness that they used to provide. And the damage goes further, with the failure of so many supermarkets to support British produce. You really must buy British ­ whether fish, fresh produce, meat or poultry. You are amazingly powerful and can make the difference between many farmers going bust or surviving. {{NEWS }}

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