Organic food a far better health option

A £12m million study has found that organic foods are healthier than ordinary produce because they contain more antioxidants.

The study which was funded by the European Union (EU) is believed to be the most expensive one ever conducted into the value of organic produce.

The study involved researchers growing fruits and vegetables on a 725 acre area where fields were split into two so that conventional and organic produce could be grown side by side.

The study has allowed scientists to compare organic and regular foods and test whether organic foods are a better health option.

The area was attached to Newcastle University and other sites across Europe were also used.

The research has revealed that milk from organic herds of cattle contained 90 percent higher levels of antioxidants than the milk from non-organic cattle - antioxidants are thought to prevent cancer and heart diseases.

The study also revealed that organic food contained more beneficial minerals such as iron and zinc.

According to Professor Carlo Leifert, the coordinator of the four-year study, the results of the research are useful because it demonstrates a way for people who do not eat the recommended portions of fruits and vegetables a day, to increase their intake of nutrients.

Findings from the project which is the first to investigate systematically the physiology of produce from the different farming techniques, will be peer reviewed and published over the next 12 months.

Professor Leifert, who is the leader of the "QualityLowInput-Food (QLIF)" project says the research has shown up to 40% more beneficial compounds in vegetable crops and up to 90% more in milk; it has also found high levels of minerals such as iron and zinc in organic produce.

The results support other studies which have also shown that organic food is healthier; a recent Californian study comparing organic tomatoes with those grown conventionally, found the organic ones had double the level of flavonoids, an antioxidant thought to reduce the risk of heart disease.

The QLIF project involves 33 academic centres across Europe and is led by Newcastle University.