Description
The BZfE Saisonkalender is the seasonal calendar for fruit and vegetables of Germany’s Federal Centre for Nutrition, free as an app and as a poster, showing when each kind is harvested in Germany and when it is imported.
The Bundeszentrum für Ernährung (BZfE) is part of the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), an agency of the federal agriculture and food ministry. Its calendar page explains that regional produce causes fewer greenhouse gas emissions than imports because it travels less, and that heated greenhouses and energy-hungry storage are bad for the climate. As an example it cites figures from the ifeu institute for strawberries: about 0.3 kg of CO₂ equivalent per kilo for regional, seasonal fruit, 0.4 kg for fresh strawberries from Spain, 0.7 kg for frozen and 3.4 kg for strawberries eaten in winter.
The free app “Der Saisonkalender” for iPhone and Android covers more than 80 kinds of fruit and vegetables. It shows the main harvest months, a year overview, and the domestic and import seasons, together or separately, and can be searched by month or by name. The large DIN A2 poster is free to order, and a pocket version is sold in packs of ten through the BLE media service. Verbraucherzentrale reviewed the app well: free, easy to use and without game elements.
Strengths
- The app is free, without ads, and shows for each month what grows in Germany and what is imported.
- The page gives figures for the difference, such as 0.3 kg of CO₂ equivalent for a kilo of seasonal strawberries against 3.4 kg in winter.
- Verbraucherzentrale rated the app as easy to use and practical, and the poster can be ordered free for a kitchen or a classroom.
Weaknesses
- The web page has no month-by-month table: the calendar itself is only in the app and on the poster.
- It is in German and is based on German harvest seasons, so it suits Austria or Switzerland only roughly.
- The calendar page was last updated in February 2025, according to its footer.
Who it is for
Households, school canteens and teachers in Germany who want to know which vegetables are in season this month and how much a winter strawberry costs the climate.