European youngsters encouraged to tuck into fruit

It’s time to take stock of “Fruitness enjoy it!” - the three-year project promoted and financed by CSO (Centro Servizi Ortofrutticoli), the European Union and Agea to encourage fruit consumption among school-aged children in a number of EU member states. Schoolchildren are most exposed to foods with high fat and sugar content, and therefore at greatest risk of childhood obesity, a condition which affects around 5 million children between the ages of 5 and 18 worldwide.

Since 2006, the campaign – implemented in Austria, Germany, Poland, the UK and Sweden – has been raising children’s awareness about the importance of regularly eating fruit, particularly peaches, nectarines, pears and kiwifruit. By engaging youngsters in an easy-to-understand, fun language in the style of cartoon strip and video game dialogue, it aims to underline that eating fruit is a pleasure rather than a chore.

The irrepressible standard-bearer of the project is Mr Fruitness, the superhero in the green leotard who draws strength from fruit to defeat the snack bars, crisps and fizzy drinks that undermine health and reduce the effectiveness of his superpowers.

“Looking at the figures, the Fruitness project has achieved commendable results,” affirms Paolo Bruni, President of CSO. “To date, 7,500 promotions have been organised in retail chain stores and traditional shops and over 1 million information leaflets have been handed out. Children have been able to play Mr Fruitness video games in three different versions, over 2 million copies of which have been distributed during the last three years. Throughout the course of the project,” continues Paolo Bruni.

“Fruitness has stirred up tremendous interest, including media interest, grabbing column inches in newspapers and magazines and gaining recognition throughout Europe, producing an estimated total of 21 million useful contacts”.

The superhero in the green leotard has also been personally introduced to pupils in schools throughout Cologne, as part of a road show in which German schoolchildren competed to win fruit-based prizes. The purpose of the competition was to develop the children’s creativity while raising the profile of Mr Fruitness.

The Internet is the preferred communication tool of the “Fruitness enjoy it!” campaign. The fruitness.eu website, which is viewable in five languages, not only informs youngsters about the benefits of a fruit-rich diet in reducing the risk of obesity, but is also a source of fun and games.

“The interactive web-space has been considerably expanded in the latest version of the site,” declares Luciano Trentini, Director of CSO. “In conjunction with the University of Bologna, we have produced a questionnaire/quiz for the increasing numbers of children who are using the site. This year, or rather, at the time of this press conference, we have already obtained 1 million contacts in 60 countries worldwide. This is a particularly outstanding result,” concludes Trentini, “in that it gives us the chance to monitor and interact with users, creating targeted activities and content for them.”

To improve the promotion of the site and expand his fan base, Mr Fruitness has recently been exploring blogs and social networks from Youtube to Facebook thus ensuring the superhero in the green leotard has built up a massive online presence in the age of Web 2.0.

Pending the possible renewal of the “Fruitness enjoy it!” project, the European Union is exploring the potential of the Internet as a means of encouraging the regular consumption of fruit among European youngsters.

Tomas Garcia Azcarate, head of unit at the European Commission Directorate-General of Agriculture and Rural Development, attending the Fruitness press conference held at the Piazza Italia pavilion at Fruit Logistica 2009, announced the imminent Europe-wide launch of the “School Fruit Scheme”. With an investment of 90 million euros, the initiative will bring fruit directly into schools in an entertaining and fun way.