VOG Products, a leading apple processing company owned by the South Tyrolean Fruit Grower Cooperatives, will present its range of fresh-cut apple bags as the ‘perfect school fruit’ at this year’s Freshconex trade exhibition, which takes place in Berlin alongside Fruit Logistica on 3-5 February 2010.
Supplying schoolchildren with a healthy alternative to the kinds of snacks with which they have traditionally been presented is a major priority for the company this year. According to studies published by the European Commission, approximately 22m children in the EU’s 25 member states are overweight, with approximately 5.1m of them suffering from obesity.
“In other words, these diseases of affluence, a result of the increasing wealth in society, have now reached an alarming point,” says the company’s Arno Welponer. “The social costs of consequential damages such as cardiovascular diseases and type-two diabetes are not yet calculable.”
As governments and associations bid to address the situation, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is being seen as a key tool in fighting the epidemic. “Children and adolescents should be raised with a consciousness and better understanding of the need for balanced nutrition,” continues Mr Welponer.
To counteract this worrying trend, the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers agreed in November 2008 on an EU-wide scheme to provide fruit and vegetables to school children. Implementing rules as well as the definitive allocation of community aid per member state were subsequently outlined, meaning that the scheme was ready to start in the school year 2009/2010.
But what kind of ‘healthy food’ will be accepted and voluntarily eaten by children, and what should it look like? These were the questions VOG Products posed itself as it set about making its main product, the apple, even more attractive to children, as well as adults.
“Our Apple Snack is the result of studies and market tests conducted over several years,” explains Mr Welponer. “We combined the regional character of the Alpine region South Tyrol, as the largest single connected fruit-growing area in Europe, with our 40-year long experience of processing fruits.”
The product, which uses only high-quality apples produced according to strict standards, has a shelf-life of 14 days when stored between 1°C and 4°C. Furthermore, the product is totally free of preservatives.
VOG Products promotes its Apple Snack bags under the slogan ‘The perfect school fruit’, reflecting its aim to promote sales of the fruit through school food schemes in addition to the catering sector. “The aim of this product is to exert a positive influence on our eating habits and in particular on our children’s eating habits,” says Mr Welponer.
Since the launch of Apple Snack, VOG Products has worked closely with several stakeholders in the business, enabling it to gain a lot of experience over the past few years. “We participated in some pilot projects for school fruit in Germany and major school fruit programmes in Italy,” Mr Welponer reveals. “In 2009, the Apple Snack was also accredited by the UK School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme.”
While Mr Welponer accepts that the product, compared with a whole apple, might be more expensive, he is keen to underline of the product is to get children to consume more fruit and vegetables voluntarily. “This is a proven way of achieving this,” he adds. “So far we received mainly positive feedback from parents and teachers.”
At its stand during Freshconex 2010, VOG Products will distribute its Apple Snack bags and also show off some of its other industrial products, especially fruit purées and pulps. As a base for smoothies and healthy drinks, such products are in many ways ‘liquid fruits’, meaning they fit in well with the theme of convenience and health that characterises VOG Products’ commercial outlook.
