The ENZA Big Crunch, to be held on 10 May, will see around 20,000 school children biting into a Jazz apple and, hopefully, entering the pages of the Guinness Book of World Records by successfully beating the record for the most people eating an apple at the same time.
Global Marketing Manager Rosstan Mazey said the event was being organised as a fun and cheeky way to promote the availability of new season Jazz Apples, whilst also reinforcing a healthy eating message to parents and children.
“We see this as a way to promote the healthy eating message, have some fun along the way and maybe even knock the Americans off their perch,” said Rosstan Mazey.
The world record is currently held by a group of schools in Michigan, USA and stands at 9,329.
ENZA have teamed up with children’s charity, Kidscan, who have endorsed the event as a way to publicise the plight of the thousands of school children who turn up to school each day without adequate lunches.
Kidscan director Julie Chapman was delighted to be asked to be part of the event.
“We distribute more than 22,000 lunches to more than 200 schools from Invercargill to Kaitaia. If being part of this initiative helps us to give our children a chance at a better start in life then we’re all for it,” said Julie Chapman.
“The old adage that ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ is not just an old wives tale – it is supported by research showing our Jazz apples are high in fibre, have a low Glycaemic Index and contain anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals that aid learning and improve focus in school children, than most other apple varieties” said Rosstan Mazey.
It is not the first Big Crunch to be organised in New Zealand.
“We actually did a similar event back in 1992, with the late Sir Peter Blake providing the countdown over the radio to schools around the country. That event really grabbed people’s attention – and there wasn’t even a world record attempt involved,” said Mr Mazey.
“This will be a fun day for kids and parents alike. I for one will be at my kid’s school on the day making sure they get stuck into to a crunchy Jazz Apple, and hopefully too, a number kids will go home as world record holders” said Mr Mazey
