USDA ARS Improves Nutritional Value of Foods

The U.S. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is working on improving the nutritional value of certain foods such as carrot, cucumber, melon, iceburg lettuce, tomato, potato, and cranberries. Modern carrot, for instance, has 75 percent more beta-carotene than earlier varieties due to ARS’ efforts to improve this vegetable. The same technique is now being used on cucumber, melon, and tomato. Breeding is also being done on red carrots to contain more lycopene, yellow carrots with more lutein; and purple carrots to benefit from increased anthocyanins.

Other activities involve boosting the vitamin and mineral content of iceberg lettuce so that it has twice as much iron and calcium, Vitamin C and beta-carotene. Potatoes are also being targeted to have higher carotenoid content, as well as increased antioxidants zeaxanthin and lutein.

Read more on ARS' exciting efforts at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/mar08/foods0308.htm