-
A customer walks past organic products in an organic food chain store in Taipei - Source: Reuters -
Related
Organic food has no nutritional or health benefits over ordinary
food, according to a major study.
Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical
Medicine said consumers were paying higher prices for organic food
because of its perceived health benefits, creating a global organic
market worth an estimated $73 billion in 2007.
A systematic review of 162 scientific papers published in the
scientific literature over the last 50 years, however, found there
was no significant difference.
"A small number of differences in nutrient content were found to
exist between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs,
but these are unlikely to be of any public health relevance," said
Alan Dangour, one of the report's authors.
"Our review indicates that there is currently no evidence to
support the selection of organically over conventionally produced
foods on the basis of nutritional superiority."
The results of research, which was commissioned by the British
government's Food Standards Agency, were published in the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Sales of organic food have fallen in some markets, including
Britain, as recession has led consumers to cut back on
purchases.
The Soil Association said in April that growth in sales of organic
products in Britain slowed to just 1.7% in 2008, well below the
average annual growth rate of 26% over the last decade, following a
plunge in demand at the end of the year.
