Critics bash EU for wasting 12m pounds on study to conclude fruit is good for you

London, July 23 (ANI): EU bureaucrats are being condemned for wasting a whopping 11.7 million pounds on a study, which reached the unsurprising conclusion that 'fruit is good for you.'

The research involving 200 scientists found that 'two apples a day keep cholesterol at bay'.

Much of the money went on developing and promoting a green-skinned EU superhero called Mr Fruitness designed to persuade children to eat more fruit.

Critics said such examples of profligacy go to show that the EU should not be insulated from the kind of spending cuts that member states are making.

"Ridiculous spending like this just goes to show that the EU budget contains plenty of fat that can be trimmed away," the Daily Mail quoted a spokesman for Open Europe, the Eurosceptic think-tank, as saying.

"In these tough economic times, do we really need an EU-funded superhero to tell us that fruit is healthy?" he added.

The multi-million pound project called IsaFruit lasted four years.

When the research was unveiled at a conference in Brussels, one of the 'major findings' was said to be the best way to reduce the risks of brown rot, a fungus which attacks many types of fruit.

Another IsaFruit research project found that eating two apples a day could help reduce cholesterol by 10 per cent.

Researchers also 'focused on the development of new dried fruits and appealing products to increase fruit consumption among young people'.

The website set up to publicise Mr Fruitness - www.fruitness.eu - describes him as "a superhero with special powers that come from the nutritional substances in fruit - vitamins and others; key components of an intelligent and conscious diet." (ANI)