GAO report confirms benefits of produce

US (September 16, 2002) - A new report by the General Accounting Office confirms what the produce industry has been saying for years: mounting studies demonstrate the health benefits of a produce-rich diet but this message is not translated into government spending to promote consumption of fruits and vegetables.

The report shows that the government is not putting its money where its mouth is, according to United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association President Tom Stenzel, who pledged to circulate the study on Capitol Hill to drum up support for increased spending on overlooked nutrition programs. “Despite comprising 33 percent of the recommended food servings in the Food Guide Pyramid, fruits and vegetables account for less than 5 percent of USDA spending,” he said.

“We do a great job producing it but not distributing it,” said Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), who joined Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) in releasing the new study at a Sept. 5 press conference during United’s annual Washington Public Policy Conference. “We want a change of direction [in government spending], with a greater emphasis on these commodities,” said Rep. Farr, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee.

“We don’t do a good job educating the public,” said Rep. Emerson.

The report, Fruits and Vegetables: Enhanced Federal Efforts to Increase Consumption Could Yield Health Benefits for Americans, recommended that the Food Guide Pyramid be revised to better communicate the need for a variety of produce, especially deeply colored fruits and vegetables, to fight chronic diseases. The report urged the secretary of agriculture and the secretary of health and human services to spell out in their performance plans how they plan to follow Healthy People 2010 objectives for fruit and vegetable consumption and implement the new 5 A Day agreement.

Food assistance programs have had mixed effects on increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables in lower-income participants, said GAO, the research arm of Congress. Food stamp recipients and women participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants & Children consume about the same number of servings as non-participating low-income people and fewer servings than the general public. However, children in WIC and the school lunch and breakfast programs are beginning to show some improvement, said GAO. Nutrition experts have recommended some fixes: improving federal nutrition education programs; providing more incentives for food stamp recipients to buy fruits and vegetables; including more fruits and vegetables in WIC food packages; expanding the availability of salad bars in schools; and encouraging farmers’ market programs for WIC participants.

“We see this GAO report [as] a key factor in placing greater emphasis on fruits and vegetables at the federal level, most immediately with the upcoming Child Nutrition Reauthorization,” said Produce for Better Health Foundation President Elizabeth Pivonka.

With rising health care costs and a growing emphasis on the need to battle obesity in America, Ms. Pivonka hopes to use this report to convey the importance of spending more money on targeted nutrition programs.

Source : The Produce News