The Orange Tour arrived in Ireland yesterday and neither a member of the Dutch monarchy nor an extreme Unionist was on board. The visit was an effort by the European Union and Intercitrus to promote the consumption of oranges and clementines as a healthy component of our daily diets.

Ms Anabel Siguan, managing director of Intercitrus, set out her stall on North Earl Street in Dublin, offering oranges and clementines free to the public, together with information packs on the importance of citrus fruit in our diets.

At the Gresham Hotel later, she bestowed the Orange Award on cancer specialist Dr Michael Moriarty for his work on the development of a cancer risk intervention tool, a schedule for evaluation of individualised quality of life and predictive testing in cancer treatment.

Dr Moriarty stressed the importance of consuming at least five portions of fruit or vegetables a day in the prevention of a range of common conditions including: delaying the ageing process; avoiding obesity; reducing cholesterol levels; protecting against cancers of the mouth, breast, oesophagus, stomach, rectum and prostate; delaying the onset of senile cataracts; and avoiding renal illnesses or diseases, including the formation of stones.

Dr Moriarty said everyone knew what they ate was important in the prevention of disease but, until recently, not exactly which foods. The European Commission is spending €4.6 million (£3.6 million) on this promotion campaign, which is travelling around the EU this month. A schools' information programme is part of the promotion and involves some 8,000 schools across Europe.