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This paper aimed to identify the key elements that should be included in a fruit and vegetable‐promoting programme in British primary schools. Such a programme could be used in healthy schools schemes or “five‐a‐day” programmes. Five US school intervention studies were analysed to identify their most effective elements. Four of the five studies found that their intervention had a significant effect on fruit and vegetable consumption. All the studies were behaviourally focussed and used interactive teaching methods and were based on social cognitive theory. Targeting fruit and vegetable consumption appeared to be more effective than broader lifestyle/healthy eating interventions. All studies, except one, increased the availability of fruit and vegetables at school lunches but none increased their availability at snack times and breakfast. Three studies taught preparation skills. All included taste testing activities which aim to increase familiarity and so increase taste preferences. Four used role models to promote fruit and vegetables and two gave rewards for consumption. One study attempted to improve the sensory properties of fruit and vegetables at lunch through preparation techniques. Two studies included a community involvement component and four involved families in the intervention. Results from two of the studies showed that interventions must be maintained over time if effects are to be maintained. Greater effects were seen for fruit consumption than vegetable consumption except for one study which focussed specifically on vegetables.

It is known that the consumption of fruits and vegetables in children is declining despite wide-spread national and international policy attempts to increase consumption. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the experiences of children’s consumption of fruits and vegetables so as to facilitate better health education targeting.

In this qualitative descriptive exploratory study, peer group interviews were undertaken with 18 girls and 18 boys, aged 8-11, from schools in the Manawatu region of New Zealand.

The results show that children’s consumption of fruits and vegetables is dependent on balancing risk and reward. Children know and understand the importance of eating fruits and vegetables; however, the perceived risks are typically the prevailing determinant of consumption. These perceived risks often stem from children’s uncertainty about whether the fruits and vegetables will meet the child’s sensory preferences. To mitigate the risks perceived in eating fruits and vegetables, children employ a range of avoidance strategies.

This study’s results indicate that a model of “associated” risk is a valuable tool to explain children’s fruit and vegetable consumption and preference behaviour and to assist in the development of future health education intervention campaigns.

What are the psychological requirements for increasing fruit and vegetable intake in young people? Psychological theory suggests behaviour modification is driven by ten experiential and behavioural “processes of change”. However, their role in food choice remains unclear. Some of these mechanisms may be nothing more than a proxy for self‐efficacy, a dominant factor in behaviour change. Thus, the aim of this study is to delineate the importance of processes of change (POCs) in fruit and vegetable intake, over and beyond self‐efficacy.

The study was based on a questionnaire survey assessing POCs and self‐efficacy in relation to change in fruit and vegetable intake. Participants were 150 university undergraduates.

MANOVA revealed significant differences in both experiential and behavioural processes across stages of behaviour change. These resources were more copious at advanced stages. Controlling for self‐efficacy via MANCOVA negated stage differences in consciousness raising. Overall, though, the contribution of experiential and behavioural processes in fruit and vegetable uptake transcended differentials in self‐efficacy. The unique or direct contribution of consciousness raising requires further investigation.

The findings may not generalise to an older more ethnically diverse population.

Fruits and vegetables interventions may require a mixture of cognitive, self‐evaluative, and behavioural treatments, over and beyond self‐efficacy enhancements.

Although previous studies have demonstrated the importance of POCs in fruit and vegetable intake this study shows that, at least in young adults, these associations largely transcend self‐efficacy, a key driver in behaviour change.

This paper investigates the marketing and pricing policies for traditional and organic fruit and vegetable products of large food retailers in four European countries by means of a survey of 47 stores, including all major food retail chains. Data have been analysed to investigate what determines the presence of organic products, the extent to which the price mark‐up between traditional and organic products depends on the inherent quality of organic products rather than on the amount of extra service and information often associated with these products, and the importance of country location within the single European market in determining the characteristics of the retail outlets. The results of the econometric analysis indicate that the size, location and overall quality of the outlet, and the degree of product information and customer service are the variables which best predict the choice to sell organic products. Also, the results indicate that almost half of the price mark‐up between traditional and organic products is explained by store characteristics and the amount of extra service and information provided with these products.

Reports on a three‐phase Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food‐funded study which aimed to identify beliefs and attitudes that may act as barriers to increased fruit and vegetable consumption and to identify strategies which could be used to encourage increased consumption through public health messages.

Despite the well-known positive effects of fruits and vegetables, their consumption in many countries is lower than those recommended. This study aims to systematically examine the effects of community-based interventions on fruits and vegetables consumption in adults.

To collect relevant publications, the authors searched electronic databases including PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science from January 2000 to July 2021. Considering random models, this study analyzed the data using weighted mean differences (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Among 1,621 retrieved publications, 21 articles met the inclusion criteria. The overall effect size demonstrated that, at the end of the trials, the educational interventions increased the consumption of aggregated fruits and vegetables (WMD: 0.55 serving/day, 95%CI: 0.34, 0.77), and vegetables (WMD: 0.15, 95%CI: 0.09, 0.21, I2: 33.2%; p = 0.103) in the intervention groups, compared to the control groups.

The subgroup analyses that were based on the type of interventions (face-to-face education compared to online interventions), location (home-based compared to the other types of interventions) and duration (24 weeks and higher) of interventions, and accompanied financial support reduced between-group heterogeneity. An efficient interventional program on increasing fruits and vegetables consumption should be part of a multi-component project.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no systematic review and meta-analysis has provided a summary of the effects of community-based interventions on fruits and vegetables consumption in adult populations, and there is no fixed conclusion that could be drawn in this regard.

There is widespread concern that children consume too few fruit and vegetables and as a result are likely to incur health problems. This paper outlines a series of studies in which an intervention that combines video‐based peer modelling with rewards has been shown to be very effective in enabling children to eat a variety of fruit and vegetables that previously they rejected. These effects have been very substantial and long lasting. The procedure has been used successfully in children’s own homes and, as this paper shows in particular detail, in school settings.

The purposes of this study were to analyze fruits, vegetables, water and soil for organochlorine pesticide (OCP) residues and to assess the food exposure of these pesticides in Qatar.

Pesticides were quantified in dates, leafy vegetables, fruiting vegetables, water and soil samples using a gas chromatography-electron capture detector and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. These pesticides were α-benzene hexachloride (BHC), ß-BHC, heptachlor, aldrin, g-chlordane, endosulfan I, α-chlordane, dieldrin, endrin and methoxychlor. Additionally, food exposure risk assessment was performed by estimating daily intakes of OCP.

Most analyzed samples contained at least one OCP residue. Endosulfan was the only pesticide that was not detected. The concentrations of OCP in samples were below the maximum residue level (MRL) except endosulfan. Among all the samples analyzed, ˜18% of those exceeded the MRL with respect to the concentrations of methoxychlor and heptachlor. Only intake of methoxychlor (0.018 mg/day) exceeded the MRL (0.01 mg/day). Dates and fruiting vegetables were likely to pose a higher risk than leafy vegetables because they contained heptachlor, endrin and methoxychlor. Leafy vegetables might pose a greater risk than dates and fruiting vegetables because of the presence of β-BHC and dieldrin.

Eight out of ten OCPs that were measured were found to be below the MRL. These pesticides should be eliminated from the food supply based on the Qatar National Implementation Plan of the Stockholm Convention in 2010. Based on the intake risk assessment, overall, the intake of OCP may not pose a major risk to human health as the concentrations of OCP were below MRL, except methoxychlor. Water and soil are the potential sources of contamination of OCP in foods that were tested in Qatar. To limit the health risks associated with OCPs, there is a need for close monitoring of food and agricultural practices and the types of pesticides imported into Qatar.

The terms ripeness and maturity, when applied to fruit and vegetables, are often difficult to define. They relate to the time at which the commodity is in the appropriate state for harvesting and for eating. Although the extremes of under‐ripeness and over‐ripeness are fairly easily defined, exactly when the ripe state is achieved between these two extremes is to some extent subjective and, in the case of a fruit like the tomato, may depend on the degree of sweetness or acidity an individual may find attractive. In fruit during ripening there is a well coordinated series of changes in the composition of the fruit which lead from the unripe to the ripe condition and which give obvious changes in colour, texture, taste and aroma which are readily perceived by the senses. With vegetables, however, there are no obvious changes of this type and maturity is exceedingly difficult to define. However, there are changes in the chemical and physical structure of vegetables during the maturation period and, although these are of a subtle nature, they can affect the quality of the vegetables as food.

The purpose of this paper is to gain an understanding of the quality cues that consumers look for in purchasing fresh meat and fresh fruit and vegetables in Malaysia. Through a perceived quality model, this paper identifies the implicit, intrinsic, extrinsic and credence quality cues consumers’ use in their decision to purchase fresh meat and fresh fruit and vegetables.

This study utilised the shopping mall intercept survey method. Data were collected from traditional markets and modern retail outlets in the Klang Valley region in Malaysia. A structured questionnaire was designed to measure consumer’s perceptions and experiences of food quality when purchasing fresh meat and fresh fruit and vegetables from retail outlets. In this study, univariate data analysis (descriptive analysis, one-way analysis of variance) and exploratory factor analysis were performed to analyse the data sets.

Freshness (intrinsic cue), was the most frequently cited variable when respondents thought about the quality of both product categories. Other variables included price and cleanliness (extrinsic cues) and Halal (credence cue), which was associated with the quality of fresh meat. Quality was associated with freshness, food safety, nutrition and value. Exploratory factor analysis identified food safety (implicit cue) as the most important construct in the respondents’ evaluation of quality for both fresh meat and fresh fruit and vegetables.

There is a paucity of research focusing on consumer’s perceptions and experiences of food quality in the purchase of fresh meat and fresh produce in Malaysia. The findings of this research may assist the Malaysian food industry by providing new insights into the consumers’ perceptions of food quality.