The national citrus growers' body is putting the hard word on some growers and marketers who have been sending immature navel oranges to market.
Orange & Tangelo Group chairman David Ingoe said he was disturbed substandard fruit was on the shelves at some supermarkets and warned that consumers would not be back for more if they bought poor-tasting fruit.
Navel oranges sourced from supermarkets in Hawke's Bay were shown in independent testing to be below the agreed industry standards for brix acid ratios, and Mr Ingoe said the growers and marketers responsible should hang their heads in shame.
Citrus Growers Incorporated chairman Rick Curtis said it was a seasonal issue for the industry, with variability among fruit lines early in the season.
"That can give the consumer a poor taste experience, so we've just been trying to get growers with those early lines to probably do a little bit more in-depth testing and maybe just be a little bit more careful that we're not giving people a bad taste experience," Mr Curtis said.
Citrus growers were competing against products from Australia and elsewhere and had to do their best to match them and produce a premium product, he said.
