The fresh produce industry has spoken out to counter the findings of a study from Birds Eye Field Fresh that claims consumers are not reaping the benefits of 5 A DAY if they concentrate on eating fresh rather than frozen produce.
The frozen veg company’s survey found that consumers underestimate the amount of nutrients lost between harvesting and consumption drastically. Birds Eye’s research team claims “96 per cent of consumers believe fresh vegetables are fresher than they actually are”.
The study, carried out for Birds Eye Field Fresh by IFR Extra, claimed fresh vegetables sold in UK fresh produce aisles “can be up to nine days old when they arrive, and remain on shelf for up to four days. By the time we eat our fresh veg, it can be up to 16 days since it was picked”.
The Fresh Produce Consortium issued the following statement to freshinfo in response: “Thanks to an efficient supply chain, most fresh produce is available for the consumer to enjoy soon after harvest, ensuring that consumers can enjoy high-quality, nutritious fresh produce at its best… The examples of fresh produce taking up to two weeks to reach the table are not the norm. Where products are required to be stored this is done under optimum conditions such as chilling to ensure that fresh produce remains highly nutritious from harvest to consumption.”
Hamish Anderson, marketing director of major fresh vegetable supplier Greyfriars UK, said: “The comparison [is not] fair as there are significant times in the year when fresh produce has been harvested locally within the UK, such as UK-season sweetcorn that is picked and on supermarket shelves within 48 hours, rather than in a commercial walk-in freezer for three months before being shipped to supermarkets.”
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