Fruits & Veggies More Matters - Topping 1,000

I think the Produce for Better Health Foundation's Fruits & Veggies More Matters campaign is a remarkable PR generating machine. It seems that not a day goes by that I don't see a story - captured by Google news alerts scanning for f/v news - about the benefits of eating a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables or some other facet of the More Matters campaign. Kudos to the staff at PBH whose work is sometimes taken for granted by produce traders distracted by less happy news.

This morning I saw another example of the steady drumbeat of coverage PBH generates, published on Market Watch online. A sampling:


WILMINGTON, Del., July 14, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Logo Helps Moms Make Healthy, Informed Purchases
WILMINGTON, Del., July 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Moms shopping for healthy options can now find the Fruits & Veggies--More Matters(R) logo on over 1,000 different food labels in stores nationwide. To carry the Fruits & Veggies--More Matters logo, food products must meet strict nutrition guidelines for total fat, saturated fat, trans-fat, added sugar, fiber, and sodium content. Consumers can look for the logo when shopping as a designation that a product is nutritious and to remind them to eat more fruits and vegetables for better health. Healthful habits, like eating fruits and vegetables, may help lower the risk of obesity and other related diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
Retailers, growers, packers and manufacturers across the country support the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption by including the Fruits & Veggies--More Matters logo prominently on both nationally marketed, brand name products, like those from Green Giant, Sunkist, Welch's, and others, as well as on the private label products of several grocery chains. A&P is the latest grocery retailer to have some of their private label frozen and canned fruits and vegetables approved to include the Fruits & Veggies--More Matters logo on their packaging. Other retailers featuring the logo on a number of select items from their private label line include: Bi-Lo, Kroger, Meijer, Publix, Safeway, Schnuck's, SuperValu, Ukrop's, Wal-Mart, and Weis.
"When you see the Fruits & Veggies--More Matters logo on a package of frozen, canned, 100 percent juice, dried, or fresh-cut fruit or vegetables, you know we've already done the label reading for you. It makes purchasing decisions easier," said Elizabeth Pivonka, Ph.D., R.D., president and CEO of PBH, the nonprofit entity who, together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is behind the Fruits & Veggies--More Matters health initiative.