The U.K. Fruit and Vegetable Task Force (that sounds more awesome than it is, I’m sure) has recommended that fruit and vegetables in ‘composite foods’ such as fruit salads, cereal bars, vegetable soups, tomato sauces and yes, ready meals, be included in the 5-A-Day campaign according to the Telegraph. This reminds me of the Reagan-era debacle when ketchup and other condiments were classified as vegetables for the school lunch program.
Update: This is pretty ridiculous. How does this encourage people to eat more fruit and veg? What it actually does is count more of the things people are already eating as fruit and veg for the purposes of the campaign. “The stats are up! People are eating more fruit and veg! Look what we’ve done!”