Get more from your veges with vitalvegetables^®

Auckland, New Zealand. 12 October 2012 Consumers who want to be sure they’re getting the most from their food will now be able to buy vegetables with greater understanding of the healthy nutrients they contain. 

The new vitalvegetables^® product range are being introduced in New Zealand supermarkets this month, following 10 years of trans-Tasman research collaboration between Plant & Food Research in New Zealand and the Department of Primary Industries Victoria in Australia.

The first five products will be marketed by the New Zealand Vital Vegetables Marketing Partners as vitalheart^™, vitalsight^™ and vitalbones^™ salad mixes; vitalimmunity^™ slaw; and vitalimmunity^™ medley. Each product contains naturally high levels of nutrients known to be good for health, and each serve contains at least 25% of the suggested daily intake of antioxidants.

Plant & Food Research researcher Dr Jocelyn Eason says the programme was developed in response to consumer demand for information about the fresh vegetable products they consume, especially with regard to nutritional benefits.

“All vegetables are good for us, with lots of nutrients that benefit our health,” she says. “We recognise that consumers want to be healthy, and through the vitalvegetables^® research we’ve made it easier for them to manage their diets to ensure they’re eating the right nutrients for the health benefits that matter to them.

“Our research has investigated which nutrients offer specific benefits to health and then identified the seeds that have high levels of these nutrients. We’ve then worked with growers to determine the best way to grow and harvest them to optimise these levels, and with vegetable marketers to ensure the levels are maintained from the field to the consumer. This means that consumers can eat a vitalvegetables^® product and know exactly what nutrients they’re getting.”

"Vegetables are highly nutritious containing many nutrients and compounds which promote optimal health and well-being,” says nutritionist Angela Berrill. “Because of these benefits it is recommended that we eat 3+ serves of vegetables every day. However, data from the last nutrition survey reported that only about 2/3 of kiwi adults are meeting these recommendations.  With the vitalvegetables^® range providing a guaranteed 25% of the suggested daily intake of antioxidants and naturally high levels of beneficial nutrients and compounds, the vitalvegetables^® mixes are a fantastic way for Kiwis to receive optimum health and nutrition benefits from vegetables."

The vitalvegetables^® research programme is funded by Horticulture New Zealand, Plant & Food Research and the Department of Primary Industries Victoria, with Horticulture Australia Limited matched funds from the Australian Government and support from the New Zealand vegetable sector. Vegetable varieties that are naturally high in nutrients are initially identified from a global collection of seeds. Products are marketed through a group of vitalvegetables^® Marketing Partners with experience and knowledge of their regional market.

A video of Jocelyn Eason can also be seen on YouTube.