Research at the University of Copenhagen has shown that there is no evidence to support the view that organic food is better than food grown with the use of pesticides and chemicals.
Organic products are almost triple the cost of regular products and yet shoppers are ready to spend in the belief that it as far healthier than regular food.
According to an ANI report, however, the latest research by Dr Susanne Bugel and colleagues, from the Department of Human Nutrition, shows that there is no clear evidence to support this belief.
Being the first study ever to examine the retention of minerals and trace elements, animals were fed a diet consisting of crops grown using three different cultivation methods in two seasons.
The researchers looked to staple ingredients that most families shop for: carrots, kale, mature peas, apples and potatoes.
The first cultivation method was growing the vegetables on soil, which had a low input of nutrients using animal manure and no pesticides except for one organically approved product on kale only.
The second method involved the researchers applying a low input of nutrients using animal manure, combined with the use of pesticides, as much permitted by regulation.
The third and final method included a combination of a high input of nutrients through mineral fertilizers and pesticides as legally permitted.
The crops were grown on either the same or similar soil on adjacent fields at the same time and thus experienced the same weather conditions.
They were also harvested and treated at the same time. In the case of the organically grown vegetables, all were grown on established organic soil.
After harvest, the researchers discovered that there was no difference in the levels of major and trace contents in the fruit and vegetables grown using the three different methods.
Produce from the conventionally and organically grown crops was then fed to animals over a two year period and the intake and excretion of various minerals and trace elements were measured.
The results showed that there was no difference in retention of the elements, regardless of how the crops were grown.
"No systematic differences between cultivation systems representing organic and conventional production methods were found across the five crops so the study does not support the belief that organically grown foodstuffs generally contain more major and trace elements than conventionally grown foodstuffs," Dr Bugel said.
The research is published in the latest issue of the Society of Chemical Industry's (SCI) Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.
As consumers we are yet again faced with the constant speculation about what is actually healthier, what is natural and what is pure marketing.
