Prune Burgers Invaded School Lunches

After prune sales declined sharply in 1995, the California Dried Plum Board began promoting beef patties mixed with prune puree for American school lunches. The puree reduced fat, kept the burgers moist, and created a new market for small prunes that consumers rarely purchased. After successful school taste tests, the group persuaded the U.S. Department of Agriculture to buy 10 million pounds of prunes in 2003 for use in school meals. The short-lived fruit-burger trend largely disappeared around 2006 after U.S. plum production fell by 49 percent.

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