South Africa is set to harvest a record pear export of just over 14.5 million cartons this season, fruitnet reports.

Most major pear producers, including Packham’s Triumph, Williams Bon Chretion and Forelle, are showing higher outputs than last year.

The country’s apple crop, now at an estimated 26.5 million exported cartons, has also seen good results, with volumes of Fuji, Granny Smith and Pink Lady all up on 2009 levels.

In total, this means South Africa’s fruit export volumes will reach 41 million cartons.

However, fruitnet notes that South African exporters will face "a formidable task" in Europe, where stock levels of apples and pears stood at record levels at the beginning of February.

Pears contain high levels of fibre and to aid the functioning of the digestive system and also help to reduce cholesterol levels.

While blueberries contain plenty of healthy nutrients, it is a myth that they are any better than other fruits, it has been claimed.

High-levels of anti-oxidants, which can help to reduce the risk of cancer, have led blueberries to be labelled as a ’superfood’.

However, according to the Daily Mail, scientists are now finding other foods - including dark chocolate - which may contain more anti-oxidants than blueberries.

And blueberries are only rich in one family of anti-oxidants, anthocyanin, which is also found in other fruits, like grapes.

The skin and seeds of red grapes in particular contain a powerful antioxidant called resveratrol, which improves circulation, promotes healing and may reduce inflammatory conditions such as arthritis.

A report published earlier this year in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry suggested that blueberries were beneficial as a memory enhancer and could even reduce the risk of developing dementia.

As part of a nationwide fundraising effort, workers are being asked to get sponsored to swap chocolate and biscuits for a healthy orange or apple.

Alternatively they could donate the money they would usually spend on sugary snacks and give it to charity instead.

All money raised will go to Comic Relief to help transform the lives of poor and vulnerable people, both in the UK and across the world’s poorest countries.

Sainsbury’s has also offered its support to Sport Relief by offering a grant of £150 to a fundraising event in Thanet, Kent.

The supermarket presented Thanet council with the community grant to aid the Thanet Sport Relief Mile on Sunday March 21st at the Marlowe Academy athletics track.

Star fruit, prunes and lemons were just some of the items in a bush tucker trial-style eating competition aimed at getting people to try new foods.

People in Wearside were challenged to identify the flavour of various fruits and other food stuffs - such as Marmite - while blindfolded, reports the Sunderland Echo.

The food tasting was organised as part of a programme of Healthy Living Day events hosted by the Pallion Action Group (PAG), which offers a range of educational, social and recreational activities.

Volunteer Emma Hall, 18, who helped organise the event, told the news provider: "Whenever we put the food in someone’s mouth they said they thought it was something it wasn’t."

Alongside the bush tucker trial there was expert advice from a health care professional on the fat content in different foods and drinks.

Writing in the Guardian, Rick Peters notes that the apple tree is the most widely cultivated fruit tree on the planet.

This has resulted in a very diverse family of fruits. "There are now 35 species in the genus," Mr Peters writes, "and, it’s reckoned, as many as 15,000 varieties of apple worldwide."

He adds that Britain boasts "some of the best flavoured fruits" including the "delightfully named" Cox’s Orange Pippin and Egremont Russet.

Other popular modern varieties of apple come from all over the world. For example, Golden Delicious comes from West Virginia, Braeburn from New Zealand, the Granny Smith from Sydney and Pink Lady from Western Australia.

Apples are a powerful source of antioxidants and vitamin C, as well as a good source of fibre, and potassium.

In addition, the antioxidant content of apples has been linked to the prevention of lung cancer and type 2 diabetes.

Record cold weather early this year forced growers to pump millions of gallons of water to protect their berries and blossoms, a situation that has been blamed for sinkholes that have plagued the Plant City area.

However, office fruit box fans will be pleased to know that the weather which contributed to a strawberry shortage now appears to be over.

To celebrate, the Florida Strawberry Festival is offering entertainers, carnival rides - and of course plenty of strawberry treats.

"The growers tell me they will have lots of sweet and juicy berries that we can be proud of," general manager Paul Davis said.

An average strawberry has 200 seeds. What is more, they are the only fruit with seeds on the outside.

According to a report released last week by the British Nutrition Foundation, people should drink around 1.2 litres of fluid a day (six to eight glasses) to ensure their bodies have enough fluid to function properly.

However, a good diet can provide crucial fluid for the body. The BNF states that on average around 20 per cent of our fluid intake - the equivalent of two extra glasses of water – comes from our food.

The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) advises that eating plenty of fresh fruits is an easy way to boost your water intake.

An apple, for example, is 84 per cent water while an orange has a water content of 87 per cent. Other juicy fruits bursting with watery goodness include grapes, plums and pears.

Drinking enough water helps boost energy, sharpens concentration, fights infections, improves skin and aids weight loss, notes the council.

Fifty thousand small scale fruit farmers in Uganda and Kenya will benefit from a £10 million four-year project of selling their produce to Coca-Cola.

The tripartite launched between Coca-Cola Company, TechnoServe and the Gates Foundation hopes to enable farmers to increase their productivity and double their incomes by 2014.

"The project aims at creating market opportunities for local farmers whose fruit will be used Coca-Cola’s locally-produced and fruit juices," Nathan Kalumbu, Coca-Cola’s east and central Africa business president, explained.

Mr Kalumbu said Coca-Cola has invested over $15 million (£10m) in capital expenditure to support local juice processing.

He added that there is a compelling market need for domestically produced mango and passion fruit, creating an attractive long-term opportunity for farmers.

The current demand for local fruits in Kenya and Uganda is estimated at 18,000 metric tonnes for mango and 2,800 metric tonnes for passion fruit.

Spanish lemon producers have claimed they still have plenty of fruit
available as southern hemisphere suppliers assess their crops and Turkey
continues to compete strongly in Europe, freshinfo reports.

Jose Andres Lopez, president of Murcia-based lemon and grapefruit sector
group Ailimpo, told the news provider: "Primofiori and Verna lemons from
Spain will continue to arrive on our international markets… in line
with the dates forecast at the beginning of the season and even beyond,
giving good availability of Spanish lemons right into the summer."

However, the 30-strong group of Murcian and Valencian companies that
make up the Iberica Hortofruticola association is concerned that Murcia
lemon exporters are losing out to Turkey, which has recently almost
doubled its exports.

An everyday ’superfood’, lemons contain enough vitamin C to boost your
immune system and help fight off a cold

Hot lemon and honey is "as good as anything on the market" when it comes
to cough and cold remedies, according to Alyn H Morice, a professor of
respiratory medicine at Hull York Medical School.

The news comes as charities and health authorities launch Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, which aims to shine a spotlight on a condition which 35,000 men are diagnosed with in the UK each year

According to the Prostate Cancer Charity, eating a wide range of different coloured fruit and vegetables is a good way of increasing the body’s daily intake of essential vitamins and minerals, helping to prevent cancer.

Eating plenty of fruit is also a good way to include antioxidants in the diet, which mop up cancer-causing free radicals.

According to a study carried out by Harvard Medical School, eating five or more servings of fresh fruit a day can lower the risk of prostate cancer by half.

Tomatoes in particular have been linked to a reduced risk of prostate cancer.