Organic food is healthier: study

SOME organic foods, including fruit, vegetables and milk, may be more nutritious than non-organic produce, according to an investigation by British scientists.

Early results from a <00A3>12m (US$25m) study showed that organic fruit and vegetables contained up to 40% more antioxidants than non-organic varieties, according to Professor Carlo Leifert at Newcastle University, who leads the EU-funded Quality Low Input Food project.

Larger differences were found in milk, with organic varieties containing more than 60% more antioxidants and healthy fatty acids, he said.

Antioxidant-rich food is often promoted as healthier because in lab tests the compounds neutralize free radicals that are thought to contribute to ageing.

The findings contradict advice from the Food Standards Agency, which maintains there is no scientific evidence to suggest organic food is healthier.

During the four-year project, Leifert’s team, which is based at the university’s Tesco center for organic agriculture, reared cattle and grew fruit and vegetables on adjacent organic and non-organic sites across Europe, including a 725-acre farm attached to the university.

The full results of the study will be released in full over the next 12 months.

“What we’re really interested in is finding out why there is so much variability? ... What in the agricultural system gives a higher nutritional content and less of the baddies in the food?” Leifert said.

(SD-Agencies)