the 5 a day message does not seem to be doing the trick in the US, with alarming research released by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggesting that overall fruit and vegetable consumption is stagnant.

As a result, the non-profit Produce for Better Health Foundation, which has been in charge of the campaign for the last 16 years, is changing tack with its new campaign, called Fruits & Veggies - More Matters, launched in conjunction with the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention.

“The reason we’re changing is that new dietary guidelines published in 2005 recommended anywhere between four and 13 servings a day,” said Elizabeth Pivonka, a registered dietician and president and ceo of the Produce for Better Health Foundation. “Our worry was that 13 servings a day was going to completely turn people off.”

The 5 A DAY approach was too complicated for many, she explained, with portion size hard to grasp, and it failed to take into account that recommended servings change based on age, weight and level of physical activity. “I am disappointed that 5 A DAY didn’t boost consumption, but it did have some other successes, namely in increasing awareness of the need to eat more fresh produce,” said Pivonka. Although 90 per cent of US consumers may not eat the recommended amount, research has shown that more than half of all adults know they need five or more servings.

The new campaign is more simple. “Fruits and vegetables are about the only things that you can pretty much eat as much as you want,” said Pivonka. “This campaign is more inspirational than 5 A DAY was, and much easier to digest.”

The new message will be spread using the up-and-running website, www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org. The site offers recipes, cooking and shopping tips, and more importantly, focuses on young, generation-X mothers who find a lot of their information online. “These mums are more involved in their children’s lives than boomer mums,” said Pivonka. “They are going to demand change in their schools.”

Even with the simplified message, money is a problem. One major junk food manufacturer may spend more on advertising in a week than the foundation’s US$6m annual budget.

Such a small budget does not cater for television advertising, thereby leaving the foundation to rely on its partnerships with industry, the CDC and other national and state organisations to help get the word out.

“People know fruits and vegetables are good for them,” added Pivonka. “They just need a gentle reminder."

PRODUCE BACK TO SCHOOL

the pma has announced a US$500,000 million partnership with education firm Scholastic Inc in a bid to spark interest among school children in fresh produce.

The new, classroom-based initiative has been designed to support the Produce for Better Health Foundation’s Campaign for Children’s Health.

The four-year InSchool scheme will target some 300,000 youngsters and 450,000 parents in the first year alone with its messages of boosting consumption and safe food handling.

When the programme launches in October, more than 10,000 teachers will receive curriculum-ready information and resources on how to make fruits and vegetables fun.

Year by year, the numbers of staff, children and families involved will increase, with the aim that by 2010, more than 70,000 teachers will have incorporated consumption messages into class plans for more than two million students and more than three million family members.

“The PMA is excited about supporting Produce for Better Health's kid-oriented campaign through Scholastic Inc,” said PMA president Bryan Silbermann. “Reaching children and their generation-X parents through the school system is invaluable to helping them become life-long produce consumers.”