The Tomato Growers’ Association (TGA) has held a license to use the 5 A DAY logo since its inception and fully supports the programme and its message about healthy eating. The logo is displayed on TGA literature relating to our children’s education website and we are currently setting up links between the 5 A DAY website and the main TGA site, in line with our intention to work more closely together in the future. Joint activity with the programme is being planned around this year’s Tomato Conference and next year’s British Tomato Week.
Tomatoes contain a wide range of health-promoting ingredients, including vitamins, minerals, flavonoids and carotenoids, such as lycopene, which makes ripe tomatoes red. Of course, we would not suggest that anyone should live on tomatoes alone; the essential message, communicated by the 5 A DAY programme - that a range of fruit and vegetables with a variety of beneficial ingredients is important - is absolutely right. In the longer term, eating more fruit and vegetables may help reduce the risk of heart disease, some cancers and stroke.
We believe children are a key audience to target with the 5 A DAY message. It seems clear that we are not going to persuade them to eat more fruit and vegetables simply by telling them these are good for them.
While there is a general perception that children don’t like tomatoes, our experience is that many do, particularly the speciality varieties now being grown on over half the British production area. Sweet, juicy, baby plum tomatoes such as Santa and super-sweet cherry varieties, such as Piccolo, are very popular.
Four years ago, the TGA launched an interactive educational website, the Tomato Zone - www.thetomatozone.co.uk. This is packed with fun learning activities and covers curriculum key stages one to four. Each year we see an increase in visits to the site and we often hear from teachers who use the interactive material time and again, in fact, they often ask us not to make too many changes because they plan their lessons around it.
The TGA recently attended an event in West Sussex called Connect with the Countryside Day. Aimed at primary school children, the purpose was to help them learn about food, farming, the countryside and the environment. It was wonderful to see so many children tucking into the tomatoes we gave them and saying how much they enjoyed them. Even those who had never tasted a tomato, or who said they didn’t like them, were encouraged to try one and most really liked them.
As one of the longest supporters of the 5 A DAY programme, the TGA continues to communicate its important message in all of its activity around the country and looks forward to developing more joined-up ventures and material distribution in the near future.
For more information about TGA, please visit www.britishtomatoes.co.uk
