The nonprofit Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) fund has determined that ackee is safe to eat and does not cause prostate cancer. The organization’s research was discussed by its CEO, Wilford Heaven, who calmed the fears of Jamaican men who are ackee fans, noting that the idea that there was a link between consuming the Jamaican national fruit and the development of prostate cancer. The completed CHASE research project results suggested that there is no basis for making that connection. Heaven made his remarks at the Gleaners Editors’ Forum at the Kingston office of the Gleaner newspaper on March 4, 2018. CHASE and the Caribbean Institute for Health Research at the University of the West Indies collaborated on the ackee study. About $50 million has been spent by CHASE on various types of research. Ackee, which is native to regions in tropical West Africa, was brought to Jamaica before 1778 and has become an important part of Caribbean cuisine. Its scientific name, Blighia sapida, refers to Captain William Blight, who brought the fruit from Jamaica to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England in 1793, thus introducing it to science.

Source: St Lucia Times