UK consumers are three times more likely to consume five portions of fruit and vegetables per day than Europeans according to a new study from Nielsen.
The research firm, which surveyed over 29,000 internet respondents in 58 countries, found that 22 per cent of UK consumers consume at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day in comparison to 8 per cent, on average, of those surveyed across the rest of Europe.
“The fact that the UK is far ahead of Europe suggests the successful impact of the Department of Health’s ‘5 a day’ programme has had on the British public over the last decade,” said Mike Watkins, Nielsen’s UK head of retailer insight.
The UK is well above the 10 per cent global average of 5 a day consumption, while in Germany, which also has a similar initiative with its '5 am Tag' campaign, only 2 per cent of consumers eat five portions per day.
Following the UK, the Irish (18 per cent) and Swiss (14 per cent) are most likely to consume ‘5 a day’ in Europe while the Croatians (0 per cent) and the Polish and Portuguese (both 1 per cent) are the least likely. On a global scale, Asia-Pacific consumers are most likely (12 per cent), while Latin Americans (5 per cent) are the least likely to consume ‘5 a day.’
