A larger number of consumers begin to realize that frozen produce is just as healthy as fresh, so more varieties are now available, and producers offer a larger range, to satisfy increasing demand from health-conscious shoppers
Across Europe, numbers of people opting for a vegetarian diet, or part-vegetarian, is rising. However, in Eastern Europe, once behind the Iron Curtain, meat is still predominant in diets.
Country highlights
• Belgium – has first city in the world (Ghent) with a weekly “veggie day”.
• France – the government’s Décret 2011-1227 has outlawed the serving of vegan meals at any public or private schools. Anecdotal data surmises that 2%.of population is vegetarian.
• Germany – Institut Produkt und Markt, says 9% of the population is vegetarian.
• Italy – European Vegetarian Union says over six million vegetarians (highest rate in EU). live in the country.
• Netherlands estimated 4.5% of the Dutch population doesn’t eat meat. Part-time vegetarians grew rapidly as well: around 3.5 million Dutch citizens abstain from eating meat a few days a week.
• Poland – survey carried out by Lightbox in 2013 found that approximately 3.2% of the population is either vegetarian or vegan.
• Russia – food is meat-based, and fast food such as McDonald’s and KFC are becoming quite popular in Russia, so vegetarianism is not very widespread. Sources have implied that it is growing but the numbers are still small compared to Western nations.
• Spain – sources estimate that there are between 1.5 to 2 million vegetarians. European Vegetarian Union cites 1,800,000 vegetarians, a 4% of the population.
• Sweden – Possibly 10% (4% vegans and 6% vegetarians).
• Switzerland – Possibly has the second highest rate of vegetarians, which estimates put around 5%
• United Kingdom – Vegetarian Society estimates that there are between three and four million vegetarians in the UK.
People in the UK are now being identified with the labels “meat-avoiders” and “meat-reducers” by marketers, “denoting people who do not self-identify as vegetarians; many say they only eat chicken and fish”. One survey identifies 23% of the population as “meat-reducers”, and 10% as “meat-avoiders”.
Hospital Food
For anyone who cares about food and nutrition, a stay in a British public (NHS) hospital can be a horrible brush with reality, and a good way to diet! Each year there is a nationwide campaign to improve hospital catering, but when many patients call fast food outlets for bedside deliveries of pizza and other fast food, one can understand the reluctance of hospital catering suppliers to supply nutritious food, which may be left on the plate. This year, there is a campaign run by Love British Food, who have joined forces with the Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) at Harvest time s ‘Bring Home the Harvest’ campaign for British Food Fortnight, (20 September to 5 October), and the HCA is encouraging its Members to get involved. The organization is a hub for nutrition, catering advice and best practice for the trade. It champions the sourcing and use of local and seasonal food in hospital meals and as well as British Food Fortnight, supports campaigns such as the NHS sustainability day, Nutrition & Hydration Week and James Martin’s Operation Hospital Food.
The National Health Service wishes to encourage patients to eat their ‘Five a day’, and include more healthy fruit and vegetables in the hospital diet. The government has several schemes going, has allowed funding for this and local government often includes a stand promoting fruit at official events.
Andy Jones, National Chair of the Hospital Caterers Association says, “We are delighted to be working with Love British Food to promote activities during British Food Fortnight. The two weeks are a great reminder for caterers and their suppliers that they should think about incorporating local and seasonal produce into their cooking. By making small changes to purchasing patterns and menus, we can make a big difference to the quality of healthcare catering in the long term.”
British Food Fortnight is the largest showcase of British food on the national calendar, and its Bring Home the Harvest campaign encourages hospitals, retailers, producers, schools, young people and all other sectors of the community to take part by organizing activities which celebrate British food and the harvest.
Consumer health
Pinguin has produced an interesting study, saying it is ‘proved that we do not consume enough vegetables.’ So far this is a given, but they then go on to say ‘specifically not enough cooked vegetables. Many of the top ten vegetables sold in supermarkets and food stores in Europe, such as carrots, are often consumed raw. Yet to benefit most from the vitamins and nutrients of vegetables, they say they should be cooked, stating “Heat actually enhances certain nutrients, transforming them into forms that are easier for the human bodyto absorb’. For good reason Pinguin’s baseline is: “The Vegetable Solution”: they offer affordable, additive-free, healthy and nutritious fruits and vegetables with high-level convenience.
Food waste
It is estimated that a large percentage of fruit and vegetables initiatives have moved to the forefront among political issue in Europe today, much as decreasing carbon footprints was yesterday. While it is estimated that more than 90 million tons of food waste are generated every year in the EU, the frozen vegetable and fruit industries contribute very little to the pile. It is said that freezing vegetables is even the best solution to avoid food waste.
This is because:
1. Foundation of the frozen vegetable business is built on reducing food waste by extending shelf life.
2. Unlike so-called ‘fresh’ product, there are virtually no post-production storage losses in the distribution chain due to deterioration or spoilage.
3. Frozen vegetable businesses process vegetables and fruits which do not have “the perfect appearance”. These vegetables, like for example curved courgettes or disfigured carrots, are generally rejected by the fresh produce. Thanks to the frozen industry they find their way –mashed, diced or sliced- as a frozen product to the consumer.
4. Packaging, such as re-closable polybags and boxes, allows consumers to easily take just as much as they need from the pack and return the rest to the freezer for safekeeping.
Fresh ideas for kitchen
The average follower to TV cooking programs wishes they had the skill to chop and dice fruit and vegetables as quickly and accurately as the Chefs. Well, now they can, with companies producing traditionally or roughly chopped: Jerusalem artichoke, parsnip, celeriac, red onions, beetroot, Brunoise vegetables fine, 100% natural, ready diced perfect cubes (4x4mm) to use in various recipes. Moreover, Pinguin Convenience has a range of 100% natural, ready-to-eat soups with healthy and original ingredient combinations for a perfect taste, low in salt, additive-free and perfectly portionable, as well as a range of healthy foods: vegetable based ready meals with healthy proteins (new grains: e.g. quinoa bulgur, etc.) Pinguin also say that since starting a range of organic vegetables in the mid ‘90s, they, along with similar companies, has seen demand for organic vegetables grew every year.
Retro vegetables gain consumer interest
Parsley, beetroot, Jerusalem artichoke, parsnips, are all vegetables which were popular 100 years ago, but fallen out of fashion. But, like in fashion, all good things come back, and so did these vegetables. In addition to this, there seems to be an idea in a lot of consumer minds that ‘industrial’ processed foods cannot be good, safe, or healthy, compared to 50 years ago, when industrial food was the guarantee for safe food.
On the other hand, cooking healthy and tasty food can be time-consuming. In every household as well as in institutional kitchens there is a lack of time to prepare. Frozen vegetables are traditionally convenient products: ready peeled, washed, sliced, diced and above all perfectly portion-able. And companies across the board are keen to help cut down preparation time.
News from producers
Givrex, the Egyptian based company, supplies an unusual range of products, including Artichokes and Five beans.
Gellar specializes in supplying microwavable ready meals in trays, with a special cover which allows steam cooking, while Congelados de Navarra, in just 12 years, has managed to enter the ranking of the top 10 frozen vegetable producers in
Europe, including becoming the leading for Broccoli. As they say, “We are a young and dynamic company committed to food safety, the environment, and internationalization. Congelados Virto is a Spanish company which proudly says its USP is having processing plants situated near to producers, enabling it to supply many lesser-known fruits and vegetables, such as avocados, mangos, olives etc, manufacturing a wide range of products for the retail, foodservice and industry channels.
Herbs
One area where TV has increased sales to a massive degree is the sale of herbs. Traditionally, Britain was a massive consumer of spices. The Crusaders bought these back from the Holy Land, and exotic examples became popular, particularly as a way of disguising rancid, old meat. Gram for grime, they were expensive, so when fishermen started smuggling them into Britain, when the government forbade Continental trade during the Napoleonic wars, this provided a good income for the fishing boats, and were easily concealed in small packages. The only herbs in regular use in Britain were those used for homemade country medicines, mint and English parsley, until after the War, when cookery writer Elizabeth David mentioned Provencal herbs in her ever-popular cookery books.
Today, TV chefs spread the message; viewers see them use them in dishes, and this is something that is easy to copy. Now, this very week, in Britain’s most popular weekend newspaper, The Sunday Times, Celebrity Chef Gizzi Erskine has three pages devoted to recipes featuring herbs. She even specifies flat leaved parsley, which is different to the curly-leaved English variety.
Other recipes feature basil, thyme, rosemary – and she mentions “herb scissors”, especially-developed by popular kitchen equipment makers Lakeland, to make finely chopping herbs easier.
And for stores worried that the rise in Farmers’ Markets might adversely affect sales, in London they have been so successful that many farmers now employ temporary staff to ‘man’ their pitches. This is proving counter-productive, as one USP was shoppers being able to quiz farmers about the produce they had actually grown. Temporary staff doesn’t have that connection, so supermarkets are wooing these back with promotions, featuring large blow-up photos showing fields of vegetables, trees laden with apples, with named growers and their area. Colorful posters spread the message that the store has a connection with the growers – which is what shoppers want.