To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what support his Department is giving to the 5-a-day campaign for consumption of fruit and vegetables. (216790)

We work closely with the Department of Health on a variety of issues, including the 5-a-day campaign.

One of the ways we promote the programme is through the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI), which has a key objective to increase the consumption of healthy and nutritious food.

In support of the objective, catering contractors are advised under the PSFPI to encourage the consumption of fruit and vegetables in accordance with the 5-a-day programme. Suggestions include displaying bowls of fruit in canteens or staff rooms to make it easy for people to grab healthy snacks on the run, providing more fruit and vegetables options as part of meals and using 5-a-day resources (which include posters, books and postcards) which illustrate portion size and what counts towards 5-a-day.

Additionally, the Catering Services and Food Procurement Toolkit of the PSFPI specifies that contractors shall show support for the Government’s 5-a-day programme by, for example, increasing fruit and vegetables in composition dishes and signing up for the national 5-a-day logo for use on menus and promotional materials. There is also a case study on the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, part of the 5-a-day programme, in the “DIY guide to implementing the PSFPI—advice for practitioners”, found on the DEFRA website.