Consumer Focused Review of the Fruit and Vegetable Food Chain
- Project status: Completed
- Project type: Food safety
- Discipline: Food chain
Research objective
During 2006, safefood undertook a review of how fruit and vegetables are grown, imported, sold and consumed on the island of Ireland. This review focuses on ready-to-eat fresh fruit and vegetables, whether whole or prepared, which are eaten raw.
The review outlines the nutritional and health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables as well as the basic processes by which fruit and vegetables enter the consumer food chain, the controls in place to protect consumers from potential risks, and the food hygiene practices that consumers should follow when buying, storing and eating fruit and vegetables.
Research report
- Title: Consumer Focused Review of Fruit and Vegetables
- Publication date: 5 October 2013
- Summary: This review provides an update on the fruit and vegetable review conducted in 2007. It collates and considers the information available – academic, regulatory, public health – on the health and food safety implications of fruit and vegetables.
- Findings:
This review provides an update on the fruit and vegetable review conducted in 2007. It collates and considers the information available – academic, regulatory, public health – on the health and food safety implications of fruit and vegetables.It focuses on ready-to-eat (RTE) fresh fruit and vegetables which are consumed raw, whether whole or prepared, and includes products packaged under vacuum or in a modified atmosphere that have not undergone any treatment (chemical, physical or biological) to ensure preservation, other than chilling.
The key finding was that 75% of Irish consumers are now able to identify that they should eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, but only a third (36%) of consumers say they are doing so. The average intake of fruit and vegetables is currently less than half that recommended, at 2.4 portions per day. Issues to do with cost, shelf life, preparation time and habit were seen by consumers as barriers to buying and consuming more fruit and vegetables.
