Irish potato business Peter Keogh and Sons Ltd. begin selling its exclusive Selena variety of potatoes.
The selenium-enriched potatoes have a price premium of about 20 percent and are being sold through the Superquinn supermarket chain.
The Selena potatoes provide an average of 14 micrograms of selenium per 100 grams of potato. The company says this means a normal serving of 250 grams would provide about 50 percent of the recommended daily intake for adults.
Ireland has a lower level of natural selenium in its soil and regular potatoes contained only 0.2 micrograms selenium.
Keogh says selenium is present in its Selena potatoes in an organic form that is readily used and is more beneficial to the human body than the inorganic form such as tablets or supplements.
Selenium is an essential mineral that research has shown helps keep the liver, heart and muscles in good working order. It is also a potent antioxidant that clears the body of free radicals, the unstable oxygen molecules that can cause DNA damage and lead to tumors.
In laboratory trails it has also been shown to break down carcinogens and induce injured cells to self-destruct before turning cancerous.