Future apple and peach variety development should be aimed at men, according to research just published by European research project Isafruit.
The team of researchers carried out a survey of 4,900 consumers, aged 15-70 in Germany, Poland, Switzerland, France, The Netherlands, Italy and Spain to investigate the habitual intake of the two most commonly consumed fruits in Europe: apples and peaches. Substantial differences in consumption between, gender and age groups were observed.
They found a staggering nine per cent of young Europeans aged 15-35 never eat apples and that of those who do eat fruit in this age group, their intake is far lower than that of older age groups. The pattern is very similar for peaches.
Isafruit researchers are working on possible solutions to reverse this trend and prevent a decline in fruit consumption in Europe.
Some 54.5 per cent of respondents aged 61-70 reported eating more than five apples a week. In the 15-35 year-old-age group, the corresponding number was only 17.4 per cent. For peaches, a similar tendency was seen with 35.6 per cent of the oldest respondents and only 15.7 per cent of the youngest eating more than five peaches per week. These numbers indicate that the younger generations are eating less fruit and that the same trend could be true for overall fruit intake.
The survey also demonstrated that men are eating significantly lower amounts of apples and peaches than women and are more liable to avoid these fruits altogether.
Isafruit said in a statement that its findings indicate that future initiatives to increase fruit consumption, such as the introduction of new apple and peach varieties, should be aimed particularly at men and young people.
The survey was carried out as a collaboration between 10 research institutions: Research Institute of Pomology & Floriculture, Poland; Fruit Research Station JORK, Germany; Applied Plant Research, University of Wageningen, The Netherlands; Agroscope FAW, Wädenswil, Switzerland; Technical Centre for the Fruit and Vegetable Industry (CTIFL), France; LAIMBURG Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Italy; CRA, Italy; Consorzio Italiano Vivasti (CIV), Italy, NOVADI, France; IRTA, Spain.
The paper ‘Apple and peach consumption habits across European countries’ reporting on the study is published in technical journal Appetite.
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