Food In Canada

Opportunities lie in getting kids to eat fruits and vegetables

By Food in Canada staff   

Food Trends Research & Development Health & Wellness nutrition R&D

Eating more fruits and vegetables seems to be a trend that won’t go out of style. Health professionals around the world are behind it and many governments promote it as well. But as parents know, it requires a certain amount of ingenuity getting enough, if any, fruits and vegetables into children. A recent Trend Insight from research firm Mintel, has found that opportunities for food manufacturers lie in helping parents get their children to meet the five to 10 a day recommendation. Called Kids’ healthy food – hide & seek, it found that “manufacturers are now developing new ranges of food and drink designed to help counter children’s reluctance to eat fruit and vegetables. These typically look to conceal or disguise vegetables or mask their taste, providing a convenient way of obtaining the goodness of fruits and vegetables.” So, for example, some conceal the vegetables by blending them into sauces, adding them to biscuits or crackers or combining vegetable juice with fruit flavours in drinks. The report also found that manufacturers are developing these products without additives and preservatives and other ingredients linked to obesity, such as high-fructose corn syrup. And many of these products tend to come in the all-natural or organic categories. It’s all part of a movement toward more healthy food options for children.


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