Organic food quality – axioms and ambiguities

Summary

During last decades the consumer trust in food quality has drastically decreased, mainly because of the growing ecological awareness and several food scandals. Consumers started to look for safer and better controlled foods, produced in more environmentally friendly system.
Organically produced foods are widely believed to satisfy the above demands; up to now research studies have partly confirmed this opinion.
Organic crops contain fewer nitrates and nitrites and fewer residues of pesticides than conventional ones. They contain as a rule more dry matter, vitamin C, phenolic compounds, valuable amino acids and total sugars; however the level of carotenoids is often higher in conventional plant products. Organic crops contain often more mineral compounds; they have usually better sensory and storage quality. Farm animals from organic herds and small experimental mammals fed organically show often better health and fertility parameters.
However, there are also some negatives: plant and animal production in organic system show lower yield than in conventional production. Several important problems need to be investigated and settled in coming years: environmental contamination of the organic crops, bacterial and fungi contamination. The impact of the organic food consumption on human health and well being still remains unknown and needs explanation.