Fresh produce could have a key role in protecting against cancer and a other diseases, according to a team of US scientists. Bananas, potatoes and apples are among products being developed in the production of edible vaccines by Dr Robert Rose and colleagues at the universities of Rochester, Cornell and Tulane.

Potatoes, for example, have been proven to cause an immune reaction in mice to the papilloma virus, one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases and the cause of almost all cases of cervical cancer in women.

Bananas and apples – as well as tobacco – are among other crops being tested as vaccines for protection against hepatitis B, rotavirus, respiratory syncytical virus. There is even hope that the research will give rise to a vaccine to prevent tooth decay.