According to a latest report by the French Food Safety Agency (AFSSA), organic food is of better quality than conventional food, with fewer pesticides and less nitrate (a substance linked to a range of health problems, including diabetes and Alzheimer's disease). Shane Heaton, a nutritionist in Australian ecological agriculture, believes that this study has conducted a fairly adequate and rigorous assessment of the nutrition and quality of organic food. This study also found that organic food contains higher levels of minerals and antioxidants, and has many other benefits. This is contrary to another assessment recently published and commissioned by the UK Food Standards Agency, which was widely reported by the media as showing that organic food has no more benefits than non-organic food. Shane Heaton's research, through data such as dry matter content, antioxidant content, pesticide levels, and nitrate levels, reached a fair conclusion: organic food exceeds ordinary food in many respects.บทความมาจากFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/th/11206/
The key points of the research by the French food safety agency are:บทความมาจากFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/th/11206/
1. Organic plant products contain more dry matter (denser, more nutritious)บทความมาจากFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/th/11206/
2. Organic plant products have higher mineral contentบทความมาจากFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/th/11206/
3. Organic plant products contain more antioxidants, such as phenols and salicylic acid (known to prevent cancer, heart disease, and other health problems)บทความมาจากFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/th/11206/
4. There is insufficient evidence regarding carbohydrate, protein, and vitamin contentบทความมาจากFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/th/11206/
5. 94-100% of organic food contains no pesticide residues.บทความมาจากFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/th/11206/
6. Organic vegetables contain much less nitrate, about 50% less (high nitrate levels are associated with a range of health problems, including diabetes and various types of dementia)บทความมาจากFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/th/11206/
7. Organic grains and conventional grains contain the same mycotoxinsบทความมาจากFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/th/11206/
8. Organically raised cattle have more lean meat and more unsaturated fatty acids than conventional cattle.บทความมาจากFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/th/11206/
9. Organic chicken contains fat equivalent to one-half to one-third that of conventional chicken, and its content of n-3 fatty acids (reported to have anti-cancer effects and other health benefits) is significantly higher than that of conventional chicken.บทความมาจากFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/th/11206/