A growers' group has objecting to the Heart Foundation placement of avocadoes at the bottom of its new healthy heart visual food guide and recommendation people consume the fruit in moderation.
Horticulture New Zealand says it is bewildered the foundation would place the avocado below even cheese and eggs in its diagram.
It is calling on the Heart Foundation to remove the avocado altogether rather than leave it in what it says is such a lowly and disreputable position.
Heart Foundation national nutrition advisor Delvina Gorton says avocados are a healthy food but are high in monounsaturated fats and fats.
Ms Gorton says people should eat healthy sources of fat, but they should not overdo it, and the diagram focuses not only on what people can eat and but gives guidance on the amounts.
She says no other healthy food diagram in the world includes the avocado and far from its placement being an attack on the fruit, the Heart Foundation is championing its use.
