More Fruit and Veg for Children at School Say MEPs

MEPs would like to see more funding for the programme and they also suggest giving priority to local seasonal produce. The report was adopted with 586 votes in favour, 47 against and 41 abstentions.

20/11/08 The European Parliament has adopted a report which urges an expansion in the EU programme for distributing fruit and vegetables in schools. The aim is to encourage healthier eating habits in children and combat the obesity epidemic. MEPs would like to see more funding for the programme and they also suggest giving priority to local seasonal produce. The report was adopted with 586 votes in favour, 47 against and 41 abstentions.

In the European Union around 22 million children are overweight and more than 5 million are obese, mainly owing to excessive consumption of fatty, sweet or salty food.  The World Health Organisation recommends consumption of at least 400g of fruit and vegetables per day for children under the age of 11.
 
Parliament has already - on 25 September - adopted an own-initiative report on the fight against obesity, in which it called for fruit and vegetables to be stocked in vending machines in schools and for school curricula to include information on balanced diets.
 
When the fruit and vegetable sector of the CAP was reformed last year, the European Parliament and the Member States called for a programme to be set up for distributing fruit and vegetables in schools to encourage children to eat more healthily.
 
The European Commission has proposed a budget of €90 million for this programme for the school year 2009-2010.  This budget is not enough, argue MEPs: it is equivalent to giving every child aged 6 to 10 one piece of fruit a week for 30 weeks.
 
The report calls for the Community contribution to be increased to €500 million for the year in question. 
 
The report also calls for the practical arrangements for the programme to be clarified.  MEPs say it should cover only fruit and vegetables produced within the EU.
 
The fruit and vegetables should meet the highest quality standards and should preferably be seasonal varieties, grown locally. Priority should be given to sustainable production.
 
The report also suggests that the programme not only be restricted to school children in the 6-10 age group but should also be available to pre-school children.  In addition, MEPs want the fruit to be accompanied by health and dietary advice in an appropriate style for children.