Brussels, May 15 - Europe's farm chief plans to introduce a school fruit scheme similar to that in place for milk, as part of a wider campaign to promote healthy eating and combat obesity among children, officials said on Tuesday.
Earlier this year, EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel unveiled plans to overhaul the EU's vast fruit and vegetables industry, revising or scrapping many of the annual 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion) of subsidies paid to farmers.
In the negotiations that the bloc's 27 farm ministers will hold on her reform plan, scheduled for next month, Fischer Boel is expected to recommend using EU subsidies to distribute fruit in schools as part of a compromise reform agreement.
"We're looking at introducing this, it's one of the things we would like to have in the compromise deal," one Commission official said, adding that the EU's longstanding school milk scheme could serve as a model.
The Commission has estimated that up to 27 percent of men and 38 percent of women are now considered to be obese.
The problem is worst in southern countries, as traditionally healthy Mediterranean diets give way to processed foods rich in fat, sugar and salt -- although Poland and Britain have also seen steep rises in child obesity in recent years.
Spain, Portugal and Italy report obesity levels above 30 percent in children aged between 7 and 11, the Commission says.
At present, only Greece and Italy reach the World Health Organization's recommendation of an average consumption of 400 grams (14 ounces) of fruit and vegetables a day -- while Britain, Ireland and Sweden have the EU's lowest daily per capita intake.