The health benefits of eating citrus to counteract a range of diseases and conditions, from lessening the instances of stomach cancer and lowering cholesterol levels to providing children with a healthy snacking alternative will be the focus of Intercitrus’ citrus promotional campaign in Spain.
With childhood obesity reported to be close to 18 per cent of the young population, the Spanish citrus association said its goal for the 2010/11 season was to increase fruit consumption among the country’s population, especially children.
At a press conference to announce the launch of the domestic campaign in Valencia, Intercitrus president, Juan Safont, said a “generational change” was leading to a fall in citrus consumption worldwide and for this reason he stressed the need for parents to pass on the citrus eating habit to their children.
For this reason, he said the domestic promotional campaign would be focused on increasing consumption among children through the sponsorship on children’s television programmes during November.
Mr Safont, who appeared at the campaign launch alongside Valencia region’s minister of agriculture, Maritina Hernández, and leading healthy eating authority Dr Pilar Codoñer, said a recent EU study had identified Spain as having one of the highest instances of childhood obesity in Europe.
