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      Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses

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          Abstract

          Demand for organic foods is partially driven by consumers' perceptions that they are more nutritious. However, scientific opinion is divided on whether there are significant nutritional differences between organic and non-organic foods, and two recent reviews have concluded that there are no differences. In the present study, we carried out meta-analyses based on 343 peer-reviewed publications that indicate statistically significant and meaningful differences in composition between organic and non-organic crops/crop-based foods. Most importantly, the concentrations of a range of antioxidants such as polyphenolics were found to be substantially higher in organic crops/crop-based foods, with those of phenolic acids, flavanones, stilbenes, flavones, flavonols and anthocyanins being an estimated 19 (95 % CI 5, 33) %, 69 (95 % CI 13, 125) %, 28 (95 % CI 12, 44) %, 26 (95 % CI 3, 48) %, 50 (95 % CI 28, 72) % and 51 (95 % CI 17, 86) % higher, respectively. Many of these compounds have previously been linked to a reduced risk of chronic diseases, including CVD and neurodegenerative diseases and certain cancers, in dietary intervention and epidemiological studies. Additionally, the frequency of occurrence of pesticide residues was found to be four times higher in conventional crops, which also contained significantly higher concentrations of the toxic metal Cd. Significant differences were also detected for some other (e.g. minerals and vitamins) compounds. There is evidence that higher antioxidant concentrations and lower Cd concentrations are linked to specific agronomic practices (e.g. non-use of mineral N and P fertilisers, respectively) prescribed in organic farming systems. In conclusion, organic crops, on average, have higher concentrations of antioxidants, lower concentrations of Cd and a lower incidence of pesticide residues than the non-organic comparators across regions and production seasons.

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          Most cited references22

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          Nutritional quality of organic foods: a systematic review.

          Despite growing consumer demand for organically produced foods, information based on a systematic review of their nutritional quality is lacking. We sought to quantitatively assess the differences in reported nutrient content between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs. We systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, and CAB Abstracts for a period of 50 y from 1 January 1958 to 29 February 2008, contacted subject experts, and hand-searched bibliographies. We included peer-reviewed articles with English abstracts in the analysis if they reported nutrient content comparisons between organic and conventional foodstuffs. Two reviewers extracted study characteristics, quality, and data. The analyses were restricted to the most commonly reported nutrients. From a total of 52,471 articles, we identified 162 studies (137 crops and 25 livestock products); 55 were of satisfactory quality. In an analysis that included only satisfactory-quality studies, conventionally produced crops had a significantly higher content of nitrogen, and organically produced crops had a significantly higher content of phosphorus and higher titratable acidity. No evidence of a difference was detected for the remaining 8 of 11 crop nutrient categories analyzed. Analysis of the more limited database on livestock products found no evidence of a difference in nutrient content between organically and conventionally produced livestock products. On the basis of a systematic review of studies of satisfactory quality, there is no evidence of a difference in nutrient quality between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs. The small differences in nutrient content detected are biologically plausible and mostly relate to differences in production methods.
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            Pesticide residues in conventional, integrated pest management (IPM)-grown and organic foods: insights from three US data sets.

            An analysis of pesticide residue data was performed to describe and quantify differences between organically grown and non-organic fresh fruits and vegetables. Data on residues in foods from three different market categories (conventionally grown, integrated pest management (IPM)-grown/no detectable residues (NDR), and organically grown) were compared using data from three test programmes: The Pesticide Data Program of the US Department of Agriculture; the Marketplace Surveillance Program of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation; and private tests by the Consumers Union, an independent testing organization. Organically grown foods consistently had about one-third as many residues as conventionally grown foods, and about one-half as many residues as found in IPM/NDR samples. Conventionally grown and IPM/NDR samples were also far more likely to contain multiple pesticide residues than were organically grown samples. Comparison of specific residues on specific crops found that residue concentrations in organic samples were consistently lower than in the other two categories, across all three data sets. The IPM/NDR category, based on data from two of the test programmes, had residues higher than those in organic samples but lower than those in conventionally grown foods.
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              Organophosphorus pesticide exposure of urban and suburban preschool children with organic and conventional diets.

              We assessed organophosphorus (OP) pesticide exposure from diet by biological monitoring among Seattle, Washington, preschool children. Parents kept food diaries for 3 days before urine collection, and they distinguished organic and conventional foods based on label information. Children were then classified as having consumed either organic or conventional diets based on analysis of the diary data. Residential pesticide use was also recorded for each home. We collected 24-hr urine samples from 18 children with organic diets and 21 children with conventional diets and analyzed them for five OP pesticide metabolites. We found significantly higher median concentrations of total dimethyl alkylphosphate metabolites than total diethyl alkylphosphate metabolites (0.06 and 0.02 micro mol/L, respectively; p = 0.0001). The median total dimethyl metabolite concentration was approximately six times higher for children with conventional diets than for children with organic diets (0.17 and 0.03 micro mol/L; p = 0.0003); mean concentrations differed by a factor of nine (0.34 and 0.04 micro mol/L). We calculated dose estimates from urinary dimethyl metabolites and from agricultural pesticide use data, assuming that all exposure came from a single pesticide. The dose estimates suggest that consumption of organic fruits, vegetables, and juice can reduce children's exposure levels from above to below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's current guidelines, thereby shifting exposures from a range of uncertain risk to a range of negligible risk. Consumption of organic produce appears to provide a relatively simple way for parents to reduce their children's exposure to OP pesticides.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Br J Nutr
                Br. J. Nutr
                BJN
                The British Journal of Nutrition
                Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, UK )
                0007-1145
                1475-2662
                14 September 2014
                15 July 2014
                : 112
                : 5
                : 794-811
                Affiliations
                [ 1 ]School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University , Nafferton Farm, Stocksfield, Northumberland, NE43 7XD, UK
                [ 2 ]Human Nutrition Research Centre, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University , Agriculture Building, Kings Road, Newcastle upon TyneNE1 7RU, UK
                [ 3 ]School of Biology, Newcastle University , Ridley Building, Newcastle upon TyneNE1 7RU, UK
                [ 4 ]Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University , Pullman, WA, USA
                [ 5 ]Department of Agricultural Sciences, School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, University of Bologna , Viale Fanin 42, 40127Bologna, Italy
                [ 6 ]Department of Pesticide Control and Phytopharmacy, Benaki Phytopathological Institute , GR 14561 Kifissia, Athens, Greece
                [ 7 ]Department of Organic Farming and Food Technology, Technological Educational Institute of Ionian Islands , Iosif Momferatou & Ilia Miniati PC28100, Argostoli, Cephalonia, Greece
                [ 8 ]Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences , Nowoursynowska 159c, 02-776Warsaw, Poland
                [ 9 ]Department of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw , Miecznikowa 1, 02-096Warsaw, Poland
                [ 10 ]Biotechnology and Food Research, MTT Agrifood Research Finland , FI-31600Jokioinen, Finland
                [ 11 ]Department of Gene Bank, Crop Research Institute (CRI) , Drnovská 507/73, 161 06 Praha 6 –Ruzyně, Czech Republic
                [ 12 ]Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) , Ackerstrasse 113, CH-5070Frick, Switzerland
                [ 13 ]INRA, UR407 Pathologie végétale , 67 allée des chênes, F-84143Montfavet Cedex, France
                Author notes
                [* ] Corresponding author: Professor C. Leifert, fax +44 1661 831 006, email carlo.leifert@ 123456newcastle.ac.uk
                Article
                S0007114514001366 00136
                10.1017/S0007114514001366
                4141693
                24968103
                ac468114-379f-4453-b90d-469d53a554ec
                © The Authors 2014

                The online version of this article is published within an Open Access environment subject to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

                History
                : 11 September 2013
                : 02 May 2014
                : 06 May 2014
                Categories
                Full Papers
                Dietary Surveys and Nutritional Epidemiology

                Nutrition & Dietetics
                organic foods,conventional foods,composition differences,antioxidants/(poly)phenolics

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