“An apple for the teacher” was probably the first saying that gave the general public an understanding that eating fruit is good for them, their family and particularly for their children (and their teacher’s children, of course).

The catchphrase has withstood the test of time and is still used, even though there have been other memorable signposts along the way such as the Eat More Fruit campaign, and the collective industry 5 A DAY approach in more recent times, both of which succeeded in causing surges in interest.

And it is respectful to also remember the days when the big brands such as Fyffes, Outspan, Cape, Jaffa, Spania, Le Crunch and English apples appeared throughout the country on billboards and even, in some instances, TV.

In their own way, all of these words and messages continued to strengthen the perception that fruit is not only good for you, but is enjoyable because of the wide range of wonderful tastes available to suit every palate. The convenience factor has also played a major part in shaping consumer habits, during the period when snacking gradually eroded the traditional British approach of eating three square meals a day.

The UK government has also directed a considerable amount of cash at schools, in the interest of working towards a better nutritional balance for children’s meal times.

So the good news is that, whether by myth, magic or marketing, the basic message is as powerful as ever. In one sense, you could even add in the public awareness of organics, which has at least built interest in the fresh produce sections in supermarkets.

That said, it was something of a bombshell to hear this week of a Trading Standards report that nursery school children in Sussex are eating “too many fruit and vegetables”, at the expense of other nutritional requirements.

Hopefully, this will not spark up a bushfire to, however briefly, rage across the country. Other industries will testify that such sweeping statements can bring the momentum built over decades to a grinding halt.

The reality is that, whatever these isolated findings reflect, the UK is still a long way down the consumption list compared with the rest of the European Community - including countries that are climatically similar and can therefore be compared on a roughly like-for-like basis.

Our population’s appetite change has not stemmed the tide of heavily promoted products from the confectionery and fizzy drink worlds, many of which lean towards an association with natural product equivalents to give their sales message a health kick.

There are increasing headlines concerning the rising cost to the consumer of everything from bread to chicken, as a result of the international demand for grain crops. It is unlikely that these staples will ever reach luxury status, but in the prevailing economic climate, there may never be a better chance to underline that this industry’s products are even better value for money than before, for under four-year-olds or otherwise.