Speciality Food Magazine

The money means that the 24 countries taking part, should be in a position to restrict fruit and vegetable imports to those grown within the EU - depending on price, availability and seasonality.

A £1.2m contribution to Scotland is included in the fund, in a bid to get children consuming the 400 grams of daily fruit and vegetables, as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

"I believe the scheme can make a major contribution by encouraging our young people to eat more of these healthy and tasty products,” says Mariann Fischer Boel, EU agriculture commissioner.

The EU funds granted to each country will be matched by funds from their respective government and private budgets.

Subsidised fruit and vegetable programmes in schools are nothing new, but this is the first time they appear to be taking shape on a such widespread scale.

Only Finland, Latvia and Sweden have chosen not to take part in the first year of the scheme.