Chef Allan Williams, from Fredericton's Potato Research Centre and chef at the Culinary Institute of Canada, Holland College in Charlottetown, Canada, has developed the range of red, yellow and purple potatoes.

He said: "You have different tastes, different colours, different textures. It's all exciting."

So far the chef has created red and blue potato croquettes as well as Bombay citrus and Thai coconut curry chips using the colourful varieties.

The research was developed in conjunction with the BioPotato Network in a bid to create foods which are appetizing but healthy.

To date, 13 varieties have been unveiled with researchers being allowed two years to develop the spuds further.

Antioxidants prevent and repair damage done by free radicals (oxidative damage) which can cause health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Research scientist at the centre, Dino Kubik, said: "What we're finding is that some of these potatoes have antioxidant levels that are about half of what is in a blueberry.

"Looking at these, if instead of eating a plain white potato we ate an antioxidant potato, a yellow pigment potato, we would get a significant amount of antioxidant in our diet."

Red-skinned potatoes are proving the most popular but all varieties are healthier and more resilient to the elements meaning pesticides are not required.