It’s undeniable — retail shelf space allotment is giving way to increases in tropical fruits and vegetables. Produce departments now overflow with papayas, pineapples, mangos and limes, as only a few examples. And it is not only ethnic cultures that are enjoying these items today. Traditional U.S. consumers continually learn more about tropical items and how to use them in their own kitchens.

Foodservice operations of all sizes and scales are also increasing their use of tropical items in an effort to provide new, interesting and flavorful menu items. Chefs are experimenting in exciting ways to entice diners back through their doors repeatedly.

In a 2011 report, Tracking Demographics and U.S. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Patterns, Roberta Cook, cooperative extension specialist and lecturer in the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics at the University of California-Davis, wrote that many factors have affected food consumption patterns over the last 25 years — and the list is lengthy.

Key trends that affect food consumption include the demand for foods of high and predictable quality that offer convenience and variety; growing demand for freshness and foods with higher flavor profiles; a willingness to experiment both in restaurants and in the home; the changing ethnic composition of the population, which has expanded demand for Asian and Hispanic commodities; the growth in public knowledge about how diet and health are linked; the importance of maintaining physical fitness throughout life; the simultaneous trend toward higher rates of obesity; an exploding research base on the specific phytonutrients/antioxidants associated with individual fruits and vegetables and their potential protective health benefits; a higher public sector profile and policy engagement on U.S. health issues to the benefit of fruits and vegetables, such as MyPlate; and growing consumer interest in where and how food is produced.

Cook pointed out that the changing ethnic makeup of the U.S. population is definitely favorable to fresh produce consumption, since Hispanic and Asian Americans consume fruits and vegetables at higher rates than African Americans and whites.

In 2009, white and other households on average consumed $439 of fresh produce per year compared with $695 for Asian Americans, $496 for Hispanic Americans and $287 for African Americans.

According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, over the last 20 years Hispanics and Asian Americans have consistently increased their share of the U.S. population, with approximately 50 million Hispanics representing 16 percent of the 310.2 million U.S. residents in 2010, compared with 7 percent in 1980.

Over the same period Asians grew from 1 percent to 5 percent of the population.

The highest average annual household expenditures on fresh produce are in the West at $511, compared to the national average of $429, in part given the higher concentration of Hispanic and Asian Americans there.

The South still lags the nation in produce expenditures at $365, with the Northeast ranked second, followed by the Midwest.

Cook suggested that the long-term movement of the population to the West and Southwest is likely to continue to benefit fresh produce consumption as regional migration exposes consumers to different eating patterns.

In conclusion, she predicted that demographic and food trends are likely to continue to shift consumption toward more fresh and fewer processed fruits and vegetables, as well as toward higher convenience and differentiated products, including with specific food traits, as consumers become more involved with their food choices and experiences.

Fruit and vegetable consumption growth will be more robust as income growth rebounds and higher education rates increase. Cook said it is imperative to encourage higher fresh produce consumption as part of a healthy lifestyle among all age groups, but especially among younger consumers. Good habits reinforced early in life are likely to carry forward as people age.