Fruit and vegetable availability among ten European countries: how does itcompare with the 'five-a-day' recommendation?

Recasting the role of fruit and vegetables (F&V) in the diet, and planning national and international campaigns to enhance their consumption are major public health service objectives. The present study seeks to describe F&V availability patterns in ten European countries and examine compliance with current recommendations. The mean and median F&V availability (g/person pe r d) was estimated based on household budget survey data retrieved from the Data Food Networking (DAFNE) databank. Low F&V consumers were identified b ased on WHO international recommendations (minimum combined F&V intake of a bout 400 g/person per d) and current conservative guidelines of a minimum d aily intake of three portions of vegetables and two portions of fruit. Cons iderable disparities in F&V availability were found among the surveyed Euro pean populations. Only in Mediterranean countries did the mean daily popula tion intake clearly exceed combined F&V recommendations. Dietary patterns w ere positively skewed in all populations studied, on account of the presenc e of exceptionally high values among segments of the populations. Moreover, the correlation was unexpectedly weak between the proportion of low fruit and low vegetable consumers (Spearman's correlation coefficient +0.18). Mor e than 50 % of the households in the surveyed populations are likely to con sume less than the recommended daily vegetable intake of three portions, an d this applies even to the two Mediterranean populations. The efficiency of F&V promoting strategies may be enhanced if F&V are addressed separately; furthermore, interventions that would specifically focus on vegetables are probably needed.