French minister of agriculture Bruno Le Maire announced earlier this month that, by the start of the 2010 school year, he wished to see 1m school children eating “a fruit for break” each week, compared with 100,000 in 2008 and 300,000 in 2009.
This year’s back-to-school programme sports mother-of-two TV presenter Estelle Denis as its patron, with the aim to encourage children to eat more fruits and vegetables.
“Half of children today in France consume less than one portion of fruit or vegetables per day,” said Mr Le Maire. “Therefore, we are very far from our objective of at least five fruits or vegetables per day.”
The minister is currently putting in place a public food policy that will become part of the agriculture modernisation law, due to be ready by the end of the year.
According to Mr Le Maire, this policy will seek to ensure that all French citizens receive a quality, balanced diet of the healthiest and safest food possible.
