Dive Brief:
- Health advocates in England are calling for fruit juices to be removed from the list of approved servings in the 5 A Day program in that country.
- A group called Action on Sugar says the existing guidelines are too confusing for consumers given that many juices contain extraordinarily high levels of sugar.
- Public Health England, which manages the 5 A Day program in the U.K., dismissed the concerns and said its advice is "sound."
Dive Insight:
The Five a Day program, which exists in one form or another in a number of the richest countries on earth, has clearly been a success. It is generally known in the U.S., England, Germany, Norway, Canada, etc. that they are supposed to eat at least five servings a day of fruits and vegetables.
The problem, which has dragged on for decades now, is that there seems to be no clear consensus on what constitutes a serving of fruits or vegetables. In the U.S., where the program is now called Fruits & Veggies - More Matters, has been marked by arguments dating back to 1991 on whether or not frozen, canned, or juiced produce is as desirable as fresh.
