Rio de Janeiro, March 30, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - Brazil is one of the world's largest fruit producers, but per capita consumption of natural fruit juice in the country is insignificant: a half liter per year, compared with 75 liters per year in the United States. According to a survey conducted by the Nielsen Institute, last year the country commercialized 81.6 million liters of fruit juice, worth US$ 102 million in revenues.

The coordinator of Nutrition at the Social Service of Commerce (Sesc) in Rio, Lílian Gullo, said that Brazilians, in general, are very unaware of the properties of the fruits that the country produces. And that, despite the great variety and quantity of fruit that are available, they still don't know how to use fruit to benefit their health.

According to the coordinator, Brazilians tend to prefer industrialized juices and soft drinks, forgetting that fruit are rich in vitamins, minerals, and substances that prevent diseases such as cancer.

To improve this situation, tomorrow (31), to commemorate Nutrition Day, Sesc Rio is launching the workshop, Sesc Alternative, Healthful, and Economic Nutrition. The goal is to demystify the conception that some parts of fruit are rubbish. Through practical demonstrations of juice recipes, the organization intends to make the habit of consuming more natural juice an integral aspect of people's everyday lives. The public will be shown the importance of making use of all of the fruit, including non-conventional parts, such as rinds, leaves, and stems, to combat hunger, and their attention will be turned to the need to control waste.

Brazil, according to the nutritionist, is among the 10 most wasteful countries: 30% of the food that the country produces, a fraction worth US$ 160 million, ends up in the garbage. This quantity is sufficient to feed more than 10 million people daily. A study done by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation informs that between the farm and the dinner table, 30-40% of some products, such as vegetables, legumes, and fruits are wasted each day. In the state of Rio de Janeiro alone, two million people live below the poverty line, with a daily income of R$ 2.31 (less than US$ 1.00).

Translator: David Silberstein