1. A method of recognizing a produce item comprising: providing a classifier having a plurality of inputs, each input being adapted to receive produce data of a different modality; mapping the produce data to the respective input of the classifier by a computer; for each input, independently operating on the data relating to that input to create a feature set by the computer; comparing each feature in the feature set to respective pre-trained data for that feature to produce a similarity description set by the computer; combining all similarity description sets using a dedicated weighting function to produce a composite similarity description by the computer; and deriving a plurality of class values from the composite similarity description to create a recognition result for the produce item by the computer.