The consumption of fruit and vegetables fell by 1.6 per cent last year, despite the government’s support of the 5 A DAY campaign and School Fruit & Vegetable Scheme.
Rebecca Foster, nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, said: “The decrease in the consumption of fruit and vegetables is not a positive sign. There is much work being done right now to encourage people to eat more fruit and vegetables.
“They are low in calories and have huge benefits for long-term health and disease prevention.”
Defra said the trend could be due to an increase in vegetable prices during this time period.
Elsewhere in the data released in a National Statistics study for alcohol consumption increased last year, driven by at-home drinkers,
people ate out less and households were consuming less overall.
The survey is carried out each year with last year’s figures released today, so the healthy eating message was “perhaps taking a little longer to trickle down”, she said.
The statistics are from a report called Quantities of Purchases of Food and Drink and derived Energy and Nutrient Intakes in the UK in 2003-04.
The estimates are based on food and drink purchases recorded in the Expenditure and Food Survey for the 12 month period from April 1, 2003, to March 31, 2004. A more extensive report on food expenditure in the UK is due for release in July.
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