Consumers know that consuming fruits and vegetables is important, but nearly half believe they do not consume enough, according to a 2014 infographic from the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH), Hockessin, Del. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion recommends that Americans consume 1 to 2 cups of fruit and 1 to 3 cups of vegetables each day, depending on age, sex and level of physical activity. Although the PBH’s survey found that primary shoppers believe they consumed more fruits and vegetables in 2014 than in 2012, roughly one in three of these consumers eat less than a cup of fruits and less than a cup of vegetables each day, it says. In addition, one in four shoppers think consuming fruits and vegetables is a chore, it reports.
Beverages tend to be a convenient vehicle for consumption of many types of fortified ingredients, experts note, but 11 percent of shoppers do not believe that 100 percent fruit juices and 100 percent vegetable juices are healthy, according to the PBH’s 2014 report “Primary Shoppers’ Attitudes and Beliefs Related to Fruit & Vegetable Consumption: 2012 vs 2014.” Although 65 percent of primary shoppers agree that 100 percent fruit juices and 100 percent vegetable juices are healthy,
this number is down from 79 percent in 2012, it reports.