After lobbying by the UK industry, Whitehall bosses approved the move to include vegetables in the project – designed to improve the nation's diet by hitting the public at an early age.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) and the FPC have both lobbied hard to extend the scheme, which has been piloted with four types of fruit in London and Leicester schools.

FPC ceo Doug Henderson said that the change in policy was a testament to burgeoning government faith in his organisation.

He said: 'Each step we take we do it properly and in a very measured way and there's an increase in confidence in the department of health about the ability of the FPC.' But the former Geest man warned that the nation's youth should not expect to see vegetables on the school menu just yet.

He said: 'The scheme is limited to four products at the moment – apples, pears, soft citrus and bananas but it can be increased when other products are risk assessed. With plums, for example, we have to see what the chances are of kids swallowing stones.

'Once this is done we can look at extending it to vegetables.' Henderson said that the FPC is looking to extend the scheme between summer-term kick off in April and the completion of the nationwide rollout in 2004.

The FPC chief reassured those who say that even with free vegetables, getting children to actually eat them is a difficult mountain to climb.

Citing a key report to be published next year, Henderson said: 'The work of the Bangor project will show that it is possible. It found that we can change children's diets.

'The project is based on a peer modelling scheme. It encourages children to taste fruit and vegetables. Once they've done that, the evidence is that the taste stays with them.' Meanwhile, NFU vice-president Michael Paske welcomed the move – a huge boost for the industry at the end of a troublesome year.

He said: 'We have been pushing for vegetables to be included for some time. British growers have an array of mouth-watering produce on offer from carrots to celery to tomatoes.

'It is extremely encouraging that the government has announced it will include these sorts of fresh vegetables in the scheme.'

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