creators_name: Heaton, Shane editors_name: Powell, Jane editors_name: et al., type: conference_item datestamp: 2006-05-02 lastmod: 2009-08-20 14:32:18 metadata_visibility: show title: Assessing organic food quality: Is it better for you? ispublished: pub subjects: 2security subjects: 1organics full_text_status: public keywords: Colloquium of Organic Researchers; COR; food quality; health; nutrient content; nutritional value; literature review abstract: This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. Any attempt to answer the question ‘is organic food better for you?’ requires an assessment of the safety, nutritional content and biological value aspects of food quality. Previous reviews have been unable to reach definitive conclusions after failing to ensure only valid comparisons are considered. When methodologically flawed studies are screened out and a complete assessment of nutritional quality is made, collectively, the available evidence supports the hypothesis that organically produced food is superior in terms of safety, nutritional content and nutritional value to that produced non-organically. More research is needed provide to more data further investigating the trends seen in the existing evidence. date: 2002 date_type: published publication: Proceedings of the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference publisher: Organic Centre Wales, Institute of Rural Studies, University of Wales Aberystwyth pagerange: 55-60 refereed: never referencetext: Abell A; Ernst E; Bonde JP (1994). High sperm density among members of organic farmers’ association. The Lancet 343, 1498. Aehnelt E; Hahn J (1978). Animal fertility: a possibility for biological quality assay of fodder and feeds. Biodynamics 25, 36–47. Aubert C (1975). Die Muttermilch, ein erschreckender Stand der Toxiditaet. Leb Erde, Heft 1. Bitaud C (2000). Study on pesticide residues in organic food products in France, Proceedings from the 13th IFOAM Scientific Conference, Basel, Switzerland, 28–31 Aug 2000, p 311. BMA (1992). The BMA Guide to Pesticides, Chemicals and Health. Report of the Board of Science and Education, British Medical Association, UK. Boyd CA; Weiler MH; Porter WP (1990). Behavioural and neurochemical changes associated with chronic exposure to low-level concentrations of pesticide mixtures. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health 30, 209–221. Brandt K; Mølgaard JP (2001). Organic agriculture: does it enhance or reduce the nutritional value of plant foods? Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 81, 924–931 Clayton P (2001). Health Defence. Accelerated Learning Systems, Aylesbury, UK. Daldy Y (1940). Food production without artificial fertilisers. Nature 145(3684), 905-6. Diver S (2000). Nutritional Quality of Organically Grown Food. ATTRA (Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas) report, Arkansas, US. Edelmuller I (1984). Untersuchungen zur qualitatserfassung von produkten aus unterschiedlichen anbausystemen (biologisch-dynamisch bzw. konventionell) mittels futterungsversuchen an kaninchen. Dissertation, University of Vienna, Austria. EFRC (1990). Discussion session: Food Quality – concepts and methodology’, Elm Farm Research Centre Colloquium, 50-54. Foresight. Preconceptual care charity, 28 The Paddock, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1XD, UK. FSA (2000). Position paper: Food Standards Agency View on Organic Foods, UK. FSA (2001). Chairman Sir John Krebs in personal communications, Aug-Dec 2001. Hamouz K; Lachman J; Vokal B; Pivec V (1999). Influence of environmental conditions and way of cultivation on the polyphenol and ascorbic acid content in potato tubers. Rostlinna Vyroba 45(7), 293–298 Heaton S (2001). Organic Farming, Food Quality and Human Health. Soil Association report, Bristol UK, 87pp. Jensen TK; Giwercman A; Carlsen E; Scheike T; Skakkebæk NE (1996). Semen quality among members of organic food associations in Zealand, Denmark. The Lancet 347,1844. Juhler RK; Larsen SB; Meyer O; Jensen ND; Spanò M; Giwercman A; Bonde JP (1999). Human semen quality in relation to dietary pesticide exposure and organic diet. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 37, 415–423. Levite D; Adrian M; Tamm L (2000). Preliminary results of resveratrol in wine of organic and conventional vineyards’, Proceedings of the 6th International Congress on Organic Viticulture, 25–26 Aug 2000, Basel, Switzerland, p 256–257 Lipton RB (1989). Aspartame as a dietary trigger of headache. Headache 29(2), 90–92. MAFF (1996). National Food Survey 1995. Stationary Office, London, UK. MAFF (1999/2000). Annual Report of the Working Party on Pesticide Residues 1998/1999, Health and Safety executive, MAFF Publications, London. Mayer A-M (1997). Historical changes in the mineral content of fruits and vegetables: A cause for concern? British Food Journal 99, 10-31. PHLS (2001). The Microbial Examination of Ready-to-Eat Organic Vegetables from Retail Establishments. Public Health Laboratory Service Environmental Surveillance Unit, London. Pither R; Hall MN (1990). Analytical survey of the nutritional composition of organically grown fruit and vegetables, Technical Memorandum 597, MAFF Project 4350, Campden Research, UK Plaskett LG (1999). Nutritional therapy to the aid of cancer patients. Nutrition Cancer therapy Trust UK. Submittted to the International Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine Plochberger K (1989). Feeding experiments. A criterion for quality estimation of biologically and conventionally produced foods. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 27, 419–428. Porter WP; Green SM; Debbink NL; Carlson I (1993). Groundwater pesticides: interactive effects of low concentrations of carbamates aldicarb and methomyl and the triazine metribuzin on thyroxine and somatotrophin levels in white rats. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health 40, 15–34. Porter WP; Jaeger JW; Carlson IH (1999). Endocrine, immune, and behavioural effects of alicarb (carbamate), atrazine (triazine) and nitrate (fertiliser) mixtures at ground water concentrations. Toxicology and Industrial Health 15, 133–150. Ratner D; Oren B; Vidger K (1983). Chronic dietary anticholinesterase poisoning. Israel Journal of Medical Science 19, 810-4. Reinhardt C; Wolf I (1986). Ruckstandean Pflanzenschutzmitteln bei alternative und konventionell angebautem obst u. gemuse. Bioland 2, s14–17. Rumsaeng V; Metcalf DD (1999). Nutritional Reviews 56(1), 5153-60. Schüpbach MR (1986). Spritzmittelruckstande in obst und gemuse. Deutsche Lebensmittel- Rundschau 3, s76–80. Staiger D (1988). The nutritional value of foods from conventional and biodynamic agriculture. IFOAM Bulletin 4, 9–12. Thiruchelvam M; Richfield EK; Baggs RB; Tank AW; Cory-Slechta DA (2000). The Nigrostriatal Dopaminergic System as a preferential target of repeated exposures to combined paraquat and maneb: implications for Parkinson’s Disease. Journal of Neuroscience 20(24), 9207–14 Ward NI; Soulsbury KA; Zettel VH; Colquhoun ID; Bunday S; Barnes B (1990) The influence of the chemical additive tartrazine on the zinc status of hyperkinetic children. Double blind placebocontrolled study. Journal of Nutritional Medicine 1, 51–57 Weibel FP; Bickel R; Leuthold S; Alfoldi T (2000). Are organically grown apples tastier and healthier? A comparative field study using conventional and alternative methods to measure fruit quality’, Acta Horticulturae 517, 417–426. Willet W et al. (1993) Intake of trans fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease among women. The Lancet 341(8845), 581–585. Williams CM; Pennington TH; Bridges O; Bridges JW (2000). Food quality and health. Shades of Green, a Review of UK Farming Systems, Royal Agricultural Society of England, 73–90. Woese K; Lange D; Boess C; Werner Böel K (1997). A comparison of organically and conventionally grown foods: results of a review of the relevant literature. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 74, 281–293. Worthington V (1998). Effect of agricultural methods on nutritional quality: a comparison of organic with conventional crops. Alternative Therapies Health Med 4(1), 58–69. Worthington V (2001). Nutritional Quality of Organic versus Conventional Fruits, Vegetables and Grains. The Journal Of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 7(2), 161-173. Wyshak G (2000). Teenage girls, carbonated beverage consumption and bone fractures. Archives of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine 154(6), 610–613 citation: Heaton, Shane (2002) Assessing organic food quality: Is it better for you? UK Organic Research 2002 Conference, Aberystwyth, 26-28 March 2002. In: Powell, Jane and et al., (Eds.) Proceedings of the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference, Organic Centre Wales, Institute of Rural Studies, University of Wales Aberystwyth, pp. 55-60. document_url: http://orgprints.org/8361/1/Heaton_Assessing_food_quality.pdf