Government launches new food projects for Europe Against Cancer Week; Cancer charities support plan to promote fruit and vegetables to help prevent cancer and heart disease.

M2 PRESSWIRE-9 October 2000-UK Government: Government launches new food projects for Europe Against Cancer Week; Cancer charities support plan to promote fruit and vegetables to help prevent cancer and heart disease (C)1994-2000 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:06102000

The Government will today launch projects to improve access to fruit and vegetables around the country as part of its strategy to prevent cancer, heart disease and other illness. The projects will cost around GBP1m over three years and will cover nearly one million people.

The initiative is launched at the start of Europe Against Cancer Week, which this year will focus on the benefits of fruit and vegetables. The Cancer Research Campaign and Imperial Cancer Research Fund, who are also campaigning to highlight the importance of fruit and vegetables in preventing cancer, are strongly supporting the launch.

Eating fruit and vegetables is now widely recognised as the second most effective way of preventing cancer, after reducing smoking, and it is estimated that more than a third of all cancers are diet related and potentially preventable. Fruit and vegetables have also been shown to be very effective in preventing heart disease and respiratory illness such as asthma.

Public Health Minister, Yvette Cooper, and National Cancer Director, Mike Richards, will be meeting the co-ordinators of the food projects in Whitehall today to agree the plans and formally launch the schemes.

Yvette Cooper said: