The Annual Celebration of Freshfel Europe 2023 was held on the 25th of May, Thursday located in the center of Brussels. The focus of the event was the theme of “A new face” of fruit and vegetable. Fresh produce that is rejuvenated to encourage healthier and sustainable eating habits. The event had top-quality presenters from European Commission, WRAP UK, Trianon Scientific Consulting, Planet Tracker and the OECD.

The industry of fresh fruits and vegetables has been facing a number of issues related to climate change, inaccurate images of the products in the media as well as a steady decline in consumption level. The annual gathering this year highlighted how the sector is positioned to be at leading edge of sustainability in promoting accountability and responsibleness in order to properly showcase the numerous positives and advantages of fresh fruit and vegetable items.

Salvo Laudani, president of Freshfel Europe states: “We can’t afford to continue to ignore the situation. A few years ago when the pandemic was raging, Freshfel Europe was the hero. The public was aware that we’re an environmentally sustainable option for food that has a lot of health benefits as well as minimal environmental impact. Nowadays, the fruits and vegetables tend to be getting portrayed as a negative thing in a misleading way, and with false details about water usage Quality and safety, as well as affordable prices being propagated through communication channels.”

One of the biggest perceptions in the present is that fruits and vegetables are now expensive because of the high prices triggered due to the high rates of inflation in the past year. Yet, according to Laurentia Laudani “Estimations of Italy show that, in 2022 consumption of households was up by EUR446 and of that, groceries was EUR35 while 10% was attributable to vegetables and fruits. This means that the increase in the price of vegetables and fruits only caused an increase of €3,5 a month or 0.01 cent per day, to Italian householders.”

Fresh fruit and vegetables are vital for the transition to a greener future and is at the heart of European initiatives such as The Green Deal, Farm to Fork, Fit for 55 and the EU Beating Cancer Plan. The speakers at the event stressed the need to take action now for these objectives and emphasized that even though fruits and vegetables are able as well as the potential to take the forefront in sustainability but there’s much work to be accomplished.

Philippe Binard, General Delegate of Freshfel Europe said: “Fruit and vegetables have an important role to play in advancing toward a more plant-based diet as well as healthy food chains. However, changes to the policy put obstacles in the way to achieve this goal. Limitations on the usage of pesticides packaging, effective labels and inadequate initiatives to spur innovation and consumption are hindering and slowing the transition to 100% sustainable fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Freshfel Europe also held its AGM in where members were presented with the Freshfel Europe 2023 Activity Report which outlines the activities of the association during the time period from between June 2022 and May 2023, was handed out to the members. It is accessible on the internet here.

More information is available here:

The European Fresh Produce Association

Tel. : +32 (0)2 777 15 80

Email: info@freshfel.org

www.freshfel.org