On Tuesday 21st of May the European Union and CSO Italy celebrated “Eat More Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Day” together, a celebration of the rich variety, incredible flavors, and numerous health benefits of fruits and vegetables. A fantastic opportunity to rekindle the love for fresh produce and discover new ways to incorporate these nutritional powerhouses into the daily diet.
MILAN — The celebration took place on the Boardwalk of Venice Beach in the Los Angeles area with a consumer event where more than 5,000 leaflets dedicated to the Fresh Up Your Life Project and 1,000 branded T-shirts were distributed with the mission of soliciting a good sentiment and mostly attention towards European Fruits and Vegetables.
In fact, the Project has the challenging goal of increasing awareness, competitiveness and consumption of EU agricultural products, focusing efforts primarily on promoting fresh fruits and vegetables in the United States (and the United Arab Emirates). Sponsored by CSO Italy and co-financed by the European Union, the program also brought together several Italian companies including Apofruit Italia, Cico-Mazzoni, Conserve Italia, Lagnasco Group, Oranfrizer, Origine and Salvi-Unacoa.
Amidst the various activities of the day, a survey was conducted among the attendees to investigate American consumer sentiment toward the production of fresh fruits and vegetables from Europe and especially Italy. Although California is one of the main producers of fresh fruits and vegetables in the U.S., it was interesting to note that most of the interviewed people were particularly aware that Italy and more generally, Europe are a major producer of fruits and vegetables.
In terms of types of production recognized as typical of the territories promoted, the sample surveyed reported grapes (33%), lemons (32%) and tomatoes (21%) in order of importance, followed by oranges (14%). When it comes to factors that influence the purchasing decision for fruits and vegetables, especially fresh ones, there are many: first and foremost remains the price factor followed, however, by the quality element. In third place weighs heavily the environmental impact of different production and the Country of Origin, it is evident how the approach to consumption is changing, preferring more conscious choices even in small things. Closing the classic is the presence of organic certification.
In response to the question of whether there is a difference in quality between fruit produced in the United States and fruit produced in Europe, just under half of the respondents answered affirmatively. Specifically, we talk about quality price, in fact, although European fruits and vegetables come to the U.S. market with a higher average price, the perceived quality of the consumers surveyed is higher than an equivalent local product. Another element in favor of this quality perception is the issue of GMOs: U.S. consumers are on average more exposed than Europeans to foods derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs), because in North America the use of these plants is permitted, and their use does not have to be reported on the label.
The other half of consumers, however, did not express an opinion stating that they are not fully informed about it. It is precisely this segment of the public that the project aims to reach to raise awareness of the quality and freshness of European fruit and vegetable production.
The event was a way to raise consumer awareness on the project and take stock of what has been done to date. Certainly, there is still a long way to go to be able to properly inform all consumers about the opportunities offered by European fruits and vegetables therefore project activities will continue throughout 2024 with media relations and advertising activities, participation in sector fairs and events with KOL.
News about CSO Italy
CSO Italy, founded in 1998, is a unique entity in Italy that associates many of Italy’s leading companies in the production and marketing of domestic fruit and vegetables. Completing the range of members are important companies specializing in different areas of the fruit and vegetable supply chain, from packaging, logistics, processing, machinery, and distribution. CSO Italy’s mission is to provide useful services to members to improve and make the Italian fruit and vegetable industry more efficient and competitive. A technical table at the service of the entire Italian fruit and vegetable supply chain to increase its competitiveness through synergy among operators. CSO ITALY, has 73 members, distributed as follows: 51 producer members, 14 supply chain members, 3 subsidizing members and 5 supporting bodies.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
