More than Fruits
The high quality of European fruits and fruit juices makes them a source of inspiration for all those who love to cook – professional or not. The main fruit in terms of volume harvested in Europe are apples and oranges. These crops are only a small part of the range of fruit that Europe produces, which includes, but is not limited to, peaches, pears, limes, lemons, watermelons, and berries of all kinds.
More than Vegetables
The majority of vegetables produced in the EU include tomatoes (which in Europe are considered vegetables), peppers, eggplants, courgettes, cucumbers, and gherkins. Cherry, grape, round and Coeur de Boeuf are some of the 2,600 varieties of tomatoes grown in different regions and climates of Europe. There are also root, tuber, and bulb vegetables such as carrots, radishes, onions, shallots and garlic and leafy stalked vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, chicory, endives, asparagus, and artichokes, among others.
In the EU, even plants have their own travel documents. For each plant meant for cultivation/ planting, a ‘plant passport’ records safety checks during growing and harvest seasons. Crop rotation also plays an important role in EU Organic farming and maintaining soil and plant health. The EU incentivises farmers to use non-chemical methods to get rid of pests in their production. For all fruit and vegetables grown in Europe, the EU has set maximum residue levels for pesticides to protect consumer health.
EU quality schemes, such as PDO and PGI, further show that the fruits and vegetables from Europe are grown with love and care. So, whether you fancy sampling a Danish jam for breakfast, adding frozen berries from Poland to your dessert or topping your bruschetta with sweet cherry tomatoes from Spain, you can bask in the knowledge that their consumption is filling your body with something healthy.