UK consumers are not eating enough vegetables according to new data which suggested they are buying two thirds less than recommended by health officials. Guidance figures from the government say consumers should be purchasing vegetables as one fifth of their shopping but in reality this is not being practiced.
Information released by the independent think tank The Food Foundation has shown vegetables typically make up on average just 7.2% of the shopping in the UK.
The Scots are the lowest consumers of vegetables buying only 6.6%; the Welsh are slightly better at 7.2%; and the English consume the most at 7.3%.
Food Foundation director Anna Taylor said: “Education programmes designed to get people to eat more veg have had limited success. We need to change tack and look at all parts of the food supply chain and ask ourselves what more we can do to make it easier for consumers to eat more veg.
“We are publishing a new online guide, which is packed with practical ideas for retailers, big and small, to increase their fresh, frozen and tinned vegetable sales.
“International and domestic case studies in our guide show that a strong vegetable offer can boost profits, so we hope they’ll be interested,” she said.
Chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores, James Lowman, said almost half of all convenience store shoppers consider healthy options as important.
“HIM research shows that only 23% of UK consumers think that their local convenience stores have enough healthy options but shoppers tell us that they would recommend stores to friends based on the quality of their fruit and veg,” he said. “Providing a full range of fruit and veg not only helps consumers make healthy choices, but makes sound business sense.”
Commenting on the low figures in Scotland, Nourish Scotland director, Pete Ritchie, said: “No-one is covered in glory with these figures, but it’s clear we have a particular challenge to raise our game in Scotland.”
Figures from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation suggest that 20,000 premature deaths in the UK every year could be avoided if Britons ate more vegetables.
By Chris McCullough