Anti-junk food swing may help horticulture

Press, 4 October 1982, Page 2

Anti-junk food swing may help horticulture

PA Hamilton The world swing away from “junk foods" could be just the trick, for New Zealand's up-and-coming horticulture export industry, says the Minister of Science. Dr Shearer.

Opening a horticulture seminar in Hamilton on Saturday. he said New Zealand was poised to exploit, in affluent Western countries, the swing away from junk foods towards fruit, vegetables. and whole grains. "Dietary habits in many of our major markets are changing as a sizeable proportion of the population become more health and fitness conscious and opts deliberately for foods low in an animal fats and high in fibre," Dr Shearer said.

Americans were being urged to reduce , th,eir consumption of meat, eggs and fatty foods in favour of fruits, grains and vegetables he said. Japan was another country experimenting with new foods as living standards rose.

“The switch in consumption patterns is likely to boost not only our fruit and vegetable exports, but a wide variety of processed products now being developed here in

New’ Zealand.” Dr Shearer said. These included fruit juices, nectars and wines, fruit topp-. ings for ice cream and yoghurt. Horticultural exports earned New' Zealand more than $2OO million in the year to June, 1982. It had been estimated that annual return from crops by 1990 would be at least $5OO million, he said.

, However, the horticulture export development committee had put the figure as high as $1 billion at the end of the decade. Dr Shearer said Japan was New Zealand’s largest outlet for horticultural produce. "Japan is now unable to provide all its own requirements for fruit' and vegetables for its population of 117 million.” he said.