Brits now prefer a banana or an orange a day to an apple and count carrots as their favourite vegetables rather than spuds, a poll to discover the nation's favourite fruit and vegetables has revealed.

Bananas have knocked oranges off the top spot in the survey - Healthy Nation 2008 - by the Health Food Manufacturers Association, while apples, a former number one, slipped below bananas and tomatoes.

Carrots toppled potatoes to take the top spot in the vegetable top 10, which also featured spinach, cauliflower and spring greens. Peas, however, lost out to celery and failed to make the cut.

The survey also showed that many consumers were confused about what counted towards the government's recommended 5-a-day - with two-thirds of respondents unaware that potatoes did not count.

"The statistics reflect FSA research, which found that on average only 14% of Britons eat the recommended five portions every day," concluded the report.

Topics