With school fruit consumption on the increase since Covid, organics supplier Eosta welcomes the extra attention given to organics
Dutch organic supplier Eosta has welcomed the EU’s shift toward more organic fruit and vegetables in schools, as part of a wider effort to promote healthier and more sustainable food choices for children.
A new EU requirement for 2024/25 is that all schools receive a minimum of four organic products during school fruit weeks.
“School fruit is on the rise,” Eosta said. “After a dip due to the corona years, the number of children offered fruit and also vegetables at school is growing.”
Through the EU’s education programme, Eosta added, 18.3m kilos of fruit and vegetables were eaten in schools in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium and Finland during the 2022/2023 school year, an increase of over 27 per cent compared with the previous year.”
As part of the European Green Deal to increase the share of organics in Europe, the EU school fruit programme is this year giving extra attention to organic fruit.
Eosta said the organic school fruit project was important so that “children get fruit as nature intended”, pointing to recent research from Foodwatch showing that popular school fruits such as strawberries, grapes, apples and tangerines often contained multiple residues.
“Although 96 per cent of measured products contain pesticide levels within the legal limit (EFSA report of 2022), there are no rules for cocktails within current EU legislation,” the company pointed out.
