The UK’s largest retailer has introduced a new children’s range, which opens with easy-to-eat, star-shaped butternut squash bites, with other fun, fresh produce to follow.
The initiative comes straight out of recommendations in the NFU's ground breaking Fit for the Future report, launched in 2016, which included evidence that 'fun shaped' fruit and veg can increase consumption in children by as much as 85%.
Fun shaped fruit and veg is just one of 34 ‘Options for Action’ outlined in the Fit for the Future campaign which aims to increase the consumption of fruit and vegetables from its current level of 3 a day to the recommended 5 a day.
NFU horticulture advisor Lee Abbey comments: “The NFU has called on all parts of the industry to help drive consumer purchases so that people can choose healthier foods and provide a variety of fun and nutritious options for children to eat.
"With obesity costing the NHS over £5billion per year, it’s important the consumption of fruit and veg increases, especially amongst the younger generations.”
Tesco’s new range marks the first time fruit and veg has been shaped to attract younger people and, with only 18% of UK households planning their meals in advance, also fits alongside the UK’s increasingly ‘food grazing’ lifestyle.
NFU horticulture board chairman Ali Capper said: “Congratulations to Tesco for addressing how we can instil a love of fruit and vegetables in children from a very young age.
"We have long been calling on food manufacturers to create fun-shaped fruit and veg for children in smaller-sized portions, which we believe could have a role in helping reverse the current obesity crisis.”