One in three Europeans do not eat any fruit or veg each day

Advice from the World Health Organization  recommends eating a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables a day to lower the risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer.

The Irish love their fruit and veg far more than their European counterparts, official data show – with a third of people across the bloc not eating any each day.

According to data from the European Commission's analysis arm, Eurostat, 33% of people in the EU reported not consuming any fruit or vegetables daily, while a paltry 12% of the population consumed the recommended five portions or more daily.

Ireland was top of the charts when it came to the five-a-day habit, with 33% reporting they got the recommended portion quota each day, according to the latest available data from Eurostat for 2019.

At 30%, Ireland and The Netherlands had a far higher proportion of daily fruit and vegetable intake than any other nation in the 27-member bloc, with the next highest in Denmark at 23% and France at 20%.

The lowest proportions for daily intake was in Romania, where only 2% of the population ate at least five portions of fruit and vegetables, followed by Bulgaria and Slovenia (both 5%) and Austria (6%), Eurostat said.

Advice from the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends eating a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables a day to lower the risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer.

Like the 10,000 steps a day recommendation for movement, it is believed that the five a day figure was first mooted as an achievable target by nutritional scientists about 30 years ago, and adopted by various governments to combat rising obesity levels and poor health outcomes due to unhealthy eating habits in the Western diet.

If the Eurostat data is to be taken at face value, governments and health leaders have an unenviable task to persuade more citizens to get on board.

Only 12% of the population consumed the recommended five portions or more daily on average across the bloc, while 55% said they ate between one and four portions of fruit and vegetables daily.

Women tend to be more likely to eat fruit and vegetables regularly, with 58% of women reported eating one to four portions compared to 51% for men. 

The same was true for a daily intake of five portions or more (15% vs 10%), Eurostat said, while more men than women reported skipping their fruit and vegetable intake altogether (39% vs 27%).

Sustainable food choices

Meanwhile, Irish people – especially those in Munster – are keen to make more sustainable food choices this year in light of increasing awareness around food waste and the climate crisis, a new consumer survey has found.

The survey of 500 people, commissioned by anti-food waste app Too Good To Go, found two-thirds of those making resolutions for 2022 have committed to sustainable or eco-conscious practices.

"When looking at regional differences, Limerick has the most eco-conscious resolutions makers, with 80% planning on including sustainable habits in their 2022 resolutions. Cork residents came in second with 76% pledging on improving their sustainability, Waterford third (65%), Dublin fourth (63%) and Galway fifth (47%)," Too Good To Go said.

It added that the top three sustainable resolutions for adults in Ireland for 2022 are reducing food and plastic waste, as well as more cycling and walking.

A previous Too Good To Go survey found Irish people waste €10 worth of food a week on average.