Celery June 1991

One in ten adults has never tried vegetables such as leek, celery and kale, according to a new study.

The study of 2,000 people, commissioned by supplement producer Seven Seas, found that one-fifth of adults refuse to try olives, and that 10 per cent of Brits had never eaten broccoli as a child.

A quarter of those questioned said that they have never eaten avocado, while one in seven did not try garlic until they were an adult. Apricots, blueberries, prunes and aubergines were all also found to be omitted from many a British diet.

A spokesperson for Seven Seas, said: 'It's surprising to see that many staple foods are regularly avoided or haven't been tried.

'It’s hard to keep track and manage our diets day to day to ensure we’re setting ourselves up well, but there is clearly a worrying trend of people avoiding many of the foods that can be of great benefit to health and well-being.

The study also found six in ten Britons described themselves as a fussy eater, and many said their avoidance of certain foods led to difficulty when eating out.

The firm's results results also showed a fifth of Brits have never tried asparagus, and even fewer had tried figs or prunes, and that suchhabits are being passed on to the next generation.

More than one-third of parents questioned were worried that limited diets were causing themselves and their child to miss out on essential nutrients.

And not liking a food as a child or even associating it with school dinners was enough to put one in ten adults off it for life.