Organic food better than ordinary praduced products

Organic food 'better than ordinary produce'

By Lucy Cockcroft
Last Updated: 1:07am GMT 29/10/2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...29/nfood129.xml


Organic food is more nutritious than ordinary produce, and contains higher quantities of antioxidants which help ward off heart disease and cancer, according to an extensive four-year study.

Scientists who led the £12 million project - the biggest ever research programme into organic food - hope their evidence will help persuade the Government to recommend organic produce and stop advising that eating it is merely a "lifestyle choice".

The findings come from Prof Carlo Leifert, whose Newcastle University study was funded by the EU and food companies. It found that organic fruit and vegetables contained up to 40 per cent more antioxidants, which could cut the risk of cancer and heart disease.

Prof Leifert said the health benefits were so striking that moving to organic food was the equivalent of eating an extra portion of fruit and vegetables every day.

He added: "The biggest nutritional problem at the moment is the explosion in obesity, which is linked to heart disease and negative health. If we can take in the goodies we need in a more concentrated way, it could be an important step forward."

Researchers on the Quality Low Imput Food (QLIF) project grew fruit and vegetables and reared cattle on a 725-acre site at Nafferton Farm, Northumberland. They grew both organic and conventional test crops - including cabbages, lettuces, carrots, potatoes and wheat - side by side and compared factors such as nutritional quality.

The scientists found that antioxidant levels in organic milk were up to 90 per cent higher than in conventional milk, as well as finding up to 40 per cent more antioxidants in organic vegetables.

The Food Standards Agency, which has insisted organic food is no more healthy than conventional produce, has confirmed it will be reviewing the evidence and considering whether to change its advice.

Hundreds of tests over the past five years have failed to reveal improved nutritional value in organic produce.

In January the Soil Association, the leading representative of organic producers, admitted there was a lack of studies showing organic food could be healthier. However, Patrick Holden, the director of the Soil Association, said the latest research could help to contribute to a "seismic" change in the food industry.

• Eating red meat and drinking alcohol even in small quantities increases the risk of developing cancer, a panel of experts will warn this week. The results will be presented by the World Cancer Research Fund after a five-year study.