Trials could bear fruit for Scotland

SCIENTISTS have been researching ways to produce food more suited to a Scottish climate.

The research has funded trials of new raspberries, blackcurrants and potatoes which are better able to fight diseases and cope with climate change.

The studies on food, plants and animals has generated £600 million of economic benefit and supported more than 2,800 Scottish jobs, new analysis has shown.

The 2011-2016 Strategic Research Programme, commissioned by the Scottish Government, includes work to create new crop varieties and control the spread of animal disease.

Dr Viren Ranawana, scientist at the Rowett Institute commenting on the research, said: ‘Diet-related chronic diseases are increasing in the UK despite government dietary guidelines, and one reason for this is that most of us are often unable to change our dietary habits.

‘Reformulating foods we like to eat in order to make them healthier is an alternative approach to improving health.

‘We have been exploring how some under-exploited natural products, suited to production in a Scottish climate, can be used to produce healthier food options and one example is the berries, salal and honeyberry, which may be used to produce more nutritious yoghurts.’