Organic Food Essay

Submitted By vincent8mok
Words: 478
Pages: 2

A recent report by the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA) has suggested that organic foods are more nutritious just a month after a UK report argued there was currently little evidence to indicate that organic food had additional health benefits compared to conventionally produced food.
The major points of The French Agency for Food Safety study are:
1. Organic plant products contain more dry matter (more nutrient dense)
2. Organic plant products have higher levels of minerals
3. Organic plant products contain more anti-oxidants such as phenols and salicylic acid (known to protect against cancers, heart disease and many other health problems)
4. Carbohydrate, protein and vitamin levels are insufficiently documented
5. 94-100% of organic foods do not contain any pesticide residues
6. Organic vegetables contain far less nitrates, about 50% less
7. Organic cereals contain similar levels of mycotoxins as conventional ones
8. Organically-bred cattle have more lean meat and more polyunsaturated fatty acids than their conventional counterparts
9. Organic chicken fillets contain 2-3 times less fat and are significantly higher in n-3 fatty acid content (with reported anti-cancer effects and other health benefits).
The full scientific report can be found at swroc.cfans.umn.edu/organic/ASD_Lairon_2009.pdf

Another product is Health and wellness beverage. New US research by Euromonitor has found that health and wellness beverages are continuing to increase in popularity, equating to 44 per cent of sales in the non-alcoholic beverage market.
The Functionality, Naturalness and Stevia Key to Developing Beverages to Fit Today’s Trends report said that retail value of health positioned drinks reached US $274 billion in 2011, with that figure expected to outperform soft drinks and hot drinks between 2012-2016.
While “naturally healthy” beverages made up 64 per cent of the health and wellness beverage market,