Our study was dependent on the self-reporting of fruit allergy and no objective tests were carried out.
Although several reviews have been published on the composition and biosynthesis of cuticular waxes of aerial parts of plants [ 28– 30], published reports on cuticle composition of fruit, including bell pepper, are comparatively scarce [ 31], therefore limiting the comparison of our data to other studies.
A study of fruit flies, reported in tomorrow's Nature, suggests that these silenced mutations--and perhaps helpful ones, too--may surface when one particular heat shock protein is itself mutated or must cope with potentially damaging heat or cold.
One week later, participants (n = 84) completed a self-report measure of fruit and vegetable intake over the previous week.
Some studies have reported measures of fruit and vegetable intakes in adolescents, which will be indirectly helpful in assessing the micronutrient quality of their diets (28, 29).
Food distributors and supermarkets are reporting shortages of fruits and vegetables imported from more temperate climates - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cauliflower, celery, spinach and avocados - as well as yogurt, cheeses and other dairy products imported from New Zealand, Australia and Europe.
We found that across age groups, reported consumption of fruits, vegetables, and dairy in California tended to exceed national averages, poultry was comparable, and reported meat consumption tended to be lower than national averages though percentage differences between the two amounts were usually less than ten percent (Additional file 4: Table S4).
Overall, only 15% of children reported daily consumption of fruit: 11% in rural and 19% in urban areas, and 28% reported daily consumption of vegetables, both in rural and urban areas.
Mothers with normal weight, compared with overweight, tended to be more accurate in reporting of their own fruit intake (r = 0.67 vs. r = 0.35), their child's fruit intake (r = 0.50 vs. r = 0.08), and their own intake of discretionary calories (r = 0.57 vs. r = 0.37).
Non-attenders also reported lower levels of fruit intake and vegetable intake compared with attenders.
The study did not aim to assess dietary intake to confirm reported increased intakes of fruit and vegetables.
