A bill has been passed in parliament to vastly increase UK fresh produce consumption and combat overproduction by eating sprouts.
The UK is currently lagging well behind its 5 A DAY target with consumption just 2.7 portions of fruit and veg eaten and the government is to introduce Sprout Saturdays as a reaction.
On Sprout Saturday, enforcement officers - funded by the NHS - will ensure 30 portions of sprouts are consumed per household to push up the national average.
UK sprout production outstrips demand by around 1,400 per cent with the main production areas of Lincolnshire, Cornwall and central Hull awash with the festive favourite.
Donald Hill, a spokesperson for the initiative, which has been piloted in the seaside town of Burnham-on-Sea with “mixed results”, said: “It just kills two birds with one stone. Obesity levels are rising rapidly and we have sprouts coming out of our ears.
“In one area of Lincolnshire we surveyed we found that there were more sprouts per head than grey hairs at a Cliff Richard concert, which is obviously worrying.”
The move will be rolled out directly after the Royal Wedding to allow maximum coverage in the Daily Mail, Daily Express and Inside Sprout magazine.
It follows a report by the Sprout Initiative for Liability of Litigation Yields (SILLY) last year which forecast the nation would be 67 per cent healthier if each of its 61.9 million inhabitants ate one sprout per hour per day.
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