The news that Sainsbury's is supporting the British Sprout Growers' Association's (BSGA) cause by renaming home-grown Brussels Sprouts, British Sprouts, has had wires buzzing across the world.

From BBC Radio 4's Today programme to Canada's CNS news, broadcasters have been quick to pick up the tale, which has been one of the BSGA's long-term aims since its inception 18 months ago.

Sainsbury's decision to trial the new name for a four-week period from last Monday has delighted growers.

'We think the revised name will increase the awareness of the sprout, as there certainly seems to be a psychological preference among UK consumers to buy British,' said BSGA spokesman Alex Bingham in between radio and TV interviews. 'And it's excellent to see retailers like Sainsbury's, who usually come in for a lot of criticism, doing something to benefit the industry.' Sainbury's British sprout buyer Russell Crowe, said: 'We know the country of origin is of great importance to our customers and that they are eager to buy British produce. Sainsbury's sprouts are British grown and we feel obligated to tell our customers the truth.' Bingham admitted he was astounded by the media attention the campaign had attracted. 'We received a lot of coverage the year we launched the campaign, but this is just incredible.' And he added that aside from the name-change campaign, the association wanted to get a serious health message across to consumers. 'The British sprout is the healthiest vegetable you can get,' he said.

Sainsbury's said it will be monitoring whether the name change boosts sales.

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