Bay avocado growers are in an uproar at how their "super fruit" has been ranked in the Heart Foundation's new influential food chart.
The fruit, which will top about $50 million in export earnings this season, has been lumped into the oils and nuts food group which the foundation said should be consumed in the smallest portions.
Growers are angry at the chart's treatment of avocados which contrasted the "eat most" category of vegetables and fruit, with the "use some" oils and nuts.
Katikati grower Sam Dunlop said the chart which replaced the old food pyramid was "bloody disgraceful" because it did not promote the heart and health benefits of the good fats in avocados.
"Putting it down there will look like the bottom of the food chain to most people."
Mr Dunlop said the Heart Foundation needed to review the connotations of the graphic. "They are completely discounting the nutritional benefits. There is a lot more value in a slice of avocado than a lettuce leaf or a slice of tomato."
A spokeswoman for avocado growers and the industry's council Midge Munro said it was shocked and confused at the message put out to consumers. Avocados were full of mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats which were good for the heart, but the hierarchical top-to-bottom layout of the chart would confuse.
"It should not be misleading consumers about such a wonderful fruit ... cheese and eggs sit above avocados."
Five Plus a Day Charitable Trust nutritionist Bronwen Anderson said it was misleading to have avocados in with oils and nuts. "It is a fruit, so why is it not up where it belongs?"
Heart Foundation national nutrition advisor Delvina Gorton said the placement of avocados on the guide had been deliberate. Many people used avocados differently to other fruits, with the fruit always listed as being a healthy source of fats. Rather than the botanical classification, it was about the nutrients provided by avocados and how they were used.
One avocado provided a fifth of an average person's energy intake for one day, making it a dense food for fat energy. This was why avocados were shown in the recommended smallest food group that the foundation wanted people to eat.
"It is a good choice for healthy fats, but like all foods, avocados should be eaten in moderation."
A public test of the new good chart, which only showed the food that people should be eating, had been successful. People had interpreted it in the way that the the foundation wanted it to be interpreted, she said.
Horticulture New Zealand CEO Peter Silcock said their 5500 fruit and vegetable growers were perplexed by the new guide. He asked that the visual of the avocado be removed entirely from its "lowly and disreputable" position.