Scientists are hoping to shed new light on the reasons behind the health benefits of fruit and vegetables at a special forum later this month.
The second International Symposium on Human Health Effects of Fruit and Vegetables will host industry experts, including scientists, medical and horticultural researchers and nutritionists, who will exchange information on the benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption and their role in the prevention and cure of increasingly common diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative ailments.
Bhimu Patil, director of Texas A&M University’s Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Centre, said: “Our lifestyles have changed and so have our eating habits…and not necessarily for the better. Great interest has surged worldwide on the role fruits and vegetables have on health.”
Organisers expect more than 150 scientists from 28 countries to attend the symposium hosted by Dr Patil and Yves Desjardins, academic director of Lavel University’s Institute on Nutraceutical and Functional Foods in Quebec.
It takes place between 18 and 21 August at the Loews Le Concorde Hotel, Quebec.
