Nov 10 2010

American Dietetic Association Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo Provides Perfect Venue

IRVINE, Calif. (November 10, 2010) – Representatives of the California Avocado Commission (CAC) educated registered dietitians and other attendees at the American Dietetic Association Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (ADA FNCE) about the nutrition benefits of California Avocados. The exhibition was held at the Boston Convention Center November 7 – 9, 2010.

The Commission shared the Hass Avocado Board (HAB) booth at the show, along with other avocado promotion associations, working together to encourage health and nutrition professionals to communicate the nutrition benefits of avocados to their clients. CAC informed attendees about the seasonality of California avocados and shared California avocado grower stories.

“Registered Dietitians (R.D.s) are important influencers who interact with consumers about nutrition,” said Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the Commission. “While many R.D.s already include avocados in their diet recommendations, it is important to provide them with the research findings and information about avocado nutrition. ADA FNCE provides an outstanding vehicle to interact with this audience.”

CAC positioned avocados as part of a healthful everyday diet, as well as special meals. Registered Dietitian and author Julie Upton served as CAC’s spokesperson at ADA. She appeared at scheduled times and signed her book, Energy to Burn, as one of the featured activities at the booth.

CAC also partnered with the “Meal Makeover Moms,” R.D.s Liz Weiss and Janice Newell Bissex, two of the nation’s top experts on family nutrition and eating seasonally, to link eating seasonally with nutrition. They appeared at the CAC booth on November 8, where they interviewed R.D.s on their favorite uses of California avocados. These interviews will be used for the “Meal Makeover Moms” podcast.

CAC distributed a series of nutrition-focused collateral pieces for use by dietitians in their practices – “Heart Health,” “Meals and Snacks,” and “Weight Management” – providing nutrition information tied to each theme, photos of California avocados, avocado nutrition information, and recipes. These collateral pieces are now also available for downloading at www.avocado.org/healthcare-professionals/.

The Commission participated in outreach beyond in booth activities, including sponsoring a breakfast hosted by Produce for Better Health and the Public Health/Community Nutrition Practice Group on November 7. In addition CAC participated in the official FNCE reception, themed “A World of Avocados,” which was jointly hosted by HAB and the ADA’s Food and Culinary Professionals (FCP) Dietary Practice Group (DPG).

Continuing its engagement activities with social media, throughout the conference CAC posted updates on their Facebook page. The posts included information about their show activities, as well as nutrition tips about California avocados.

About the California Avocado Commission
Created in 1978, the California Avocado Commission strives to increase demand for California avocados through advertising, promotion and public relations, and engages in related industry activities that benefit the state’s 6,000 avocado growers. The California Avocado Commission serves as the official information source for California avocados and the California avocado industry. For information about California avocados, visit CaliforniaAvocado.com, become a fan at Facebook.com/CaliforniaAvocados and follow the California Avocado Commission on Twitter at Twitter.com/CA_Avocados.