As seen in Blue Book.
The new 2025-30 Dietary Guidelines for Americans could not be clearer: fruits and vegetables now sit at the foundation of how people are being told to eat. The updated guidance reinforces a simple but powerful directive—make half the plate produce—with an explicit emphasis on real, whole foods and a move away from highly processed options.
These guidelines represent a nutritional update and a structural shift in how food is being framed in the public conversation—a shift that carries meaningful implications for the entire produce industry.
For decades, produce has been widely acknowledged as “good for you.” Now, fruits and vegetables are no longer presented as complementary components of a balanced diet. Instead, they are now framed as the foundation of the plate.
Consumers are being told to eat more fruits and vegetables—every day, across every life stage—making availability, consistency, freshness, and affordability nonnegotiable.
Supply chains are no longer just tasked with moving volume; they’re responsible for reliability at scale.
Supply chains are no longer just tasked with moving volume; they’re responsible for reliability at scale. Gaps in access, quality degradation, or unnecessary waste are no longer operational inconveniences—they directly undermine public health goals.
From an industry perspective, this moves the conversation beyond nutrition and into infrastructure.
Fresh produce is uniquely vulnerable. It’s perishable by nature, sensitive to handling, and deeply influenced by climate variability, logistics efficiency, and labor conditions.
As consumption expectations increase, the systems supporting produce must evolve, too. Reusable packaging, reduced damage in transit, and designs that protect both product quality and the people handling it are no longer “nice-to-haves.”
For global players like Fresh Del Monte, the updated guidelines reinforce a responsibility that extends beyond distribution. Being a leader in produce today means thinking holistically about how food is grown, moved, protected, and made accessible.
Being a leader in produce today means thinking holistically about how food is grown, moved, protected, and made accessible.
Peak freshness and quality are paramount. Consumers are being asked to rely on produce daily which requires precision across harvesting, cold chain management, and logistics.
Accessibility is equally critical and the updated Dietary Guidelines acknowledge something the industry has long understood: fruits and vegetables in multiple forms—fresh, frozen, canned, and dried—all play an important role in helping people meet daily nutritional needs.
Fresh produce delivers peak flavor, texture, and immediacy, and it remains central to how consumers experience fruits and vegetables. But shelf-stable options like canned fruits and vegetables extend availability, reduce food waste, and help ensure that nutritious options remain accessible regardless of seasonality, geography, or economic constraint.
Expanding availability is central to translating policy into real-world behavior change. When produce becomes the foundation of the plate, resilience matters as much as freshness. A food pyramid only works if people can actually reach its foundation.
Sustainability, too, moves from aspiration to requirement. As demand for produce grows, so does the industry’s responsibility to ensure that growth does not come at the expense of land, water, or communities. Climate resilience, waste reduction, and responsible farming practices are safeguards for long-term supply stability.
Importantly, while these Dietary Guidelines are national, their influence is global.
Importantly, while these Dietary Guidelines are national, their influence is global. Multinational retailers, foodservice operators, and producers often align around U.S. standards, using them as reference points for broader strategy.
The new Dietary Guidelines show that produce is no longer fighting for a place on the plate. Fruits and vegetables are now the foundation and the future of mainstream diets. For the produce industry, the challenge—and the opportunity—is to ensure the systems beneath it are strong enough to carry the weight.
This means investing in freshness and quality, expanding access through canned and shelf-stable options, and embracing a portfolio of solutions that allow fruits and vegetables to show up on plates consistently, affordably, and sustainably.
At Fresh Del Monte, we see this moment as a call to lead—by delivering high-quality produce in both fresh and shelf-stable forms, and by strengthening the infrastructure that allows fruits and vegetables to remain at the center of how people eat, every day.
