Fruitness – Enjoy it!

Fruit has provided us with another formidable ally in the battle against seasonal illnesses. Mr Fruitness, the green superhero leading the “Fruitness enjoy it!”* campaign (fruitness.eu), is relying on kiwi fruits with their high concentration of vitamins C and E to carry the fight against common winter ailments.

Kiwi fruits - which are low in calories, rich in micronutrients and minerals and have a higher vitamin content than citrus fruits - are the ideal fruit to help us stay healthy through the European winter. All the more so since Italy is the major European producer of this juicy green fruit, which matures from October to May, producing over 500,000 tonnes per year and exporting 70% of this total to 80 countries worldwide.

Throughout the winter months, the kiwi fruit will be playing a central role in the three-year project financed by the European Commission, AGEA (Agricultural Payments Agency) and CSO (Fruit and Vegetable Services Centre), which is designed to promote more natural eating habits and increase fruit consumption among youngsters in Austria, Germany, Britain, Poland and Sweden.

By means of a series of activities which are taking place in the fresh fruit departments of hypermarkets and supermarkets in the five target countries and in retail stores throughout Germany and Poland, consumers are being invited to consult information materials and encouraged to include more fruit in their diet.

The latest stage in this educational initiative, which aims to develop healthier eating habits for the whole family but which is primarily targeted at youngsters, also involves the release of a new Mr Fruitness video game. Distributed free in-store, the game sees the most natural superhero on the planet continue to combat junk food and protect our health with his fruit-fuelled powers.

The game, which is also available online at Fruitness.eu/eng/fruitness_gioca.html, uses child-friendly language to raise awareness about the benefits of fruit among school-aged children, who are most exposed to the risk of obesity. Thanks also to a creative design program, youngsters can let their imagination run wild by creating their very own cartoon strip about the world of Mr Fruitness.

* “Fruitness enjoy it” is a three-year campaign for the promotion of healthier eating habits, which aims to educate children and raise awareness about fruit and the role it plays in preventing child obesity. Directed at children in the United Kingdom, Poland, Austria, Sweden and Germany, the campaign is financed by the European Commission, Agea (the Agricultural Payment Agency) and CSO, for a combined value of 4 million euros.

It will consist of a targeted and integrated programme of activities dedicated to promoting the consumption of EU fruits, by providing information about their intrinsic characteristics in terms of nutritional quality, safety and health benefits. For more information, visit Fruitness.eu.