Nutritional quality and safety of organic food.

A review
Denis Lairon

To cite this version:

Denis Lairon. Nutritional quality and safety of organic food. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable
Development, Springer Verlag/EDP Sciences/INRA, 2010, 30 (1), <10.1051/agro/2009019>. <hal-
00886513>

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Agron. Sustain. Dev. 30 (2010) 33–41 Available online at:

c INRA, EDP Sciences, 2010 www.agronomy-journal.org
DOI: 10.1051/agro/2009019 for Sustainable Development

Review article

Nutritional quality and safety of organic food. A review

Denis Lairon*

INRA, UMR 1260, Nutriments Lipidiques et Prévention des Maladies Métaboliques, U476, Univ. Aix-Marseille 1, Univ. Aix-Marseille 2,
Faculté de Médecine, 13385 Marseille, France

(Accepted 6 May 2009)

Abstract – Food security, nutritional quality and safety vary widely around the world. Reaching these three goals is one of the major challenges
for the near future. Up to now, industrialized production methods have clearly shown severe limitations such as a worldwide contamination of the
food chain and water by persistent pesticide residues, and reduced nutrient and flavor contents through low-cost intensive food production and/or
processing. In line with several published literature reviews, the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA) performed under my coordination
an up-to-date exhaustive and critical evaluation of the nutritional and sanitary quality of organic food. This review is based on the AFSSA
report issued and recently published studies. The major points are: 1/ organic plant products contain more dry matter and minerals (Fe, Mg);
and contain more anti-oxidant micronutrients such as phenols and salicylic acid, 2/ organic animal products contain more polyunsaturated
fatty acids, 3/ data on carbohydrate, protein and vitamin levels are insufficiently documented, 4/ 94–100% of organic food does not contain
any pesticide residues, 5/ organic vegetables contain far less nitrates, about 50% less; and 6/ organic cereals contain overall similar levels of
mycotoxins as conventional ones. Thus, organic agricultural systems have already proved able to produce food with high quality standards. I
propose also improvements of organic production to achieve sustainable food production for humans in the near future.

sustainable agriculture / organic agriculture / human food / nutrition / food safety / contaminants / health

1. INTRODUCTION In fact, the nutritional and toxicological value of food pro-

duced under methods of ecological agriculture has long been a
While mass foodstuff production was achieved in industri- matter of interest and debate. Despite the potential importance
alized countries during the twentieth century, the limitations of this topic for human well-being, only a limited number of
of such an intensive production system have been highlighted studies have been specifically carried out due to the past gen-
for decades by ecologists and numerous agronomists, nutri- eral lack of consideration of alternative and sustainable meth-
tionists and medical doctors. Briefly, great concern has been ods of food production. During the last few decades, several
caused by high energy and chemical inputs, worldwide con- literature reviews have already been performed and published
tamination of the food chain and water by persistent pesticide in this field (Schuphan, 1974; Finesilver et al., 1989; Lairon
residues and nitrates, and the reduced nutrient and flavor con- et al., 1984a; Woëse et al., 1997; Worthington, 1998; Food
tents through low-cost and intensive food production and ex- Standards Agency, 2000; Soil Association, 2001; Brandt and
tensive milling or processing. Only recently has the combined Mölgaard, 2001; Bourn and Prescott, 2002). Our AFSSA re-
awareness for environment protection, food safety and secu- port was issued in 2003 (AFSSA, 2003) and some new reviews
rity and well-being markedly raised public concern and de- have recently been published (Magkos et al., 2006; Winter and
mand for ecologically grown staple foods (El-Hage Scialabba, Davis, 2006; Rembialkowska, 2007). In most cases, these re-
2007; Niggli et al., 2007). For developing countries, concern views have used data from original studies or previous reviews
is also focused on the appropriate way to ensure present and without true consideration of the quality of the data. The con-
future food security, the number of malnourished and under- clusions derived can somewhat differ but they generally high-
nourished people approaching one billion worldwide, with no light some benefits from organic agriculture.
decreasing trend for the coming decade (FAO, http://www.fao.
In 2001, the French Agency for Food Safety (Agence
org). Worldwide, emphasis is increasingly being put on the
relationship between food, nutrition and health (WHO, 2004; française de sécurité sanitaire des aliments (AFSSA), http://
WCRF, 2007). www.afssa.fr) aimed to perform an exhaustive and critical
evaluation of the nutritional and sanitary quality of organic
* Corresponding author: [email protected] food. To this aim, an expert working group was set up under

Article published by EDP Sciences

34 D. Lairon

my coordination. We aimed to reach the highest quality stan- For protein levels, it has been reported that organically-
dard during our evaluation. We thus defined inclusion as well grown cereals, especially wheat, can have comparable protein
as exclusion criteria for use of original publications. Briefly, levels with conventional ones (Shier et al., 1984) but gener-
selected papers should refer to well-defined and certified or- ally have somewhat lower levels of protein than the conven-
ganic agricultural practices, and have necessary information tional ones (Woëse et al., 1997). Nonetheless, it is noteworthy
on design and follow-up, valid measured parameters and ap- that the cultivars selected by organic farmers are mostly high-
propriate sampling and statistical analyses. After more than protein ones (e.g. for bread-making) and that optimized fer-
two years of work involving about 50 experts from all specific tilization practices can maintain reasonably high protein lev-
areas including organic agriculture, a final consensus report els. Moreover, a 25–30% increase in lysine has been reported
was issued in the French language in 2003 (AFSSA, 2003). in organic wheat (Wolfson and Shearer, 1981; Brandt et al.,
The present review paper is a summary of this report includ- 2000). Comparative studies performed on hen eggs (Kouba,
ing some updating and some more personal suggestions. 2002) and raw cow’s milk (Toledo et al., 2002) did not show
In all circumstances, organic agriculture is first defined any noticeable difference in protein levels.
as by the European Union regulation (CCE/2092/91 and For lipids, few studies have compared the total lipid con-
CE/1804/99) and secondly by the French regulation for tent of beef, pork or chicken meat (Pastsshenko et al., 2000;
animal productions. To summarize, the main characteris- Hansson et al., 2000; Hönikel, 1998; Fischer, 2001; Castellini
tics of the organic agriculture production system are re- et al., 2002). It is acknowledged that meat from cows and
spect for the environment and animals, promotion of sustain- sheep contains less fat when animals are fed with grass rather
able cropping methods, use of non-chemical fertilizers and than concentrate. In that line, a study conducted in Sweden
pest/disease/weed control means, production of high-quality showed that organically-bred cows have more lean meat than
foodstuffs and no use of genetically modified (GM) crops. their conventional counterparts (Hansson et al., 2000). This
The limit of such an evaluation is the insufficient number of was not found in pigs (Sundrum et al., 2000). More qualita-
studies published in this area. For some aspects, the available tively, feeding cows with grass compared with concentrate led
studies allow one to reveal some trend or conclusion. In some to a four-fold higher muscle content of linolenic acid, a rec-
others, too limited information of sufficient quality hinders any ommended essential fatty acid of the n–3 series, with a con-
sound assessment. comitant decrease in oleic and linoleic acids (Nuernberg et al.,
In the first part of this review, the nutritional value of or- 2002). Meat from organically-grown cows has more polyun-
ganic food will be described comparatively with that of con- saturated fatty acids (Pastsshenko et al., 2000). Castellini et al.
ventional food. This includes the dry matter contents of fruit (2002) showed that chickens of the same strain raised under an
and vegetables, macronutrients, minerals and vitamins in vari- organic husbandry system have meat containing two- to three-
ous staple foods, and phyto-microconstituants, especially anti- fold less abdominal fat with 2–3 times less fat in the filet and
oxidants. In the second part, sanitary properties of organic 1.8 times less fat in the leg. Moreover, the n–3 fatty acid con-
foodstuffs will be reported. Contaminations by pathogenic tent in the filet was significantly higher with no difference for
microorganisms, phytochemical contaminants or mycotoxins, saturated fatty acids.
and nitrate levels are reported. In the Conclusion, the main data The total milk fat was not overall different, while some
obtained are discussed in the context of sustainable agricul- studies highlighted the higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty
ture development, with some specific suggestions for further acids (Lund, 1991). Clearly, cow diet is a determinant of tissue
improving food quality. and milk fatty acid levels, grazing or ingesting silages modu-
lating the levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids as well as trans-
fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (Ferlay et al., 2006).
2. NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF ORGANIC A single study has shown that organic virgin olive oil has a
FOODSTUFFS higher oleic acid level (Gutierrez et al., 1999).

2.1. Dry matter content

2.3. Mineral contents
The available data mostly refer to vegetables and fruit. The most important mineral elements are calcium (Ca),
For leafy vegetables as well as root vegetables and tubers, a magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper
trend for higher dry matter contents in organic foodstuffs has (Cu), manganese (Mn), selenium (Se) and iodine (I). Phos-
been found while no significant difference has been identified phorus (P) and sodium (Na) are generally found in sufficient
for fruit vegetables and fruit (Woëse et al., 1997; Bourn and quantity.
Prescott, 2002; AFSSA, 2003). Fruit and vegetables. 22 scientific publications were con-
sidered in the AFSSA report (2003). Regarding fruit, and es-
pecially apples, it is noteworthy that the mineral composition
2.2. Macronutrient contents is generally not noticeably altered by the production system.
Regarding vegetables (potato, carrot, beetroot, lettuce, kale,
Data regarding the levels of starch and carbohydrates in or- leek, turnip, onion, celeriac and tomato), a trend has been ob-
ganic food are too limited to allow any conclusion. served for higher levels of iron and magnesium expressed on a
 Nutritional quality and safety of organic food. A review 35

fresh matter basis in organic foodstuffs, with no other marked to have drastic regulatory effects at cellular level and are thus
change. involved in prevention of certain diseases such as cancers,
Cereals. From two long-term fertilization trials, it appears chronic inflammation and other pathologies. Some of them are
that the mineral composition (P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn, Fe, Cu phytoalexins which are produced in plants as a response to ex-
and Cr ) of cereals is not markedly affected by the cropping ternal stress such as fungal disease. While several factors can
regime (Miller and Dema, 1958; Morel et al., 1984). Another modulate their plant level such as cultivar, maturity, light or
study did not show any marked difference but a trend for temperature, some studies have compared the levels of some
higher levels of Ca, Cu and Zn in organic barley (Alföldi et al., of these phyto-microcompounds in fruit or vegetables depend-
1996). ing on the cropping system. For phenols and polyphenols, a
In a recent review (Rembialkowska, 2007), it was estimated majority of studies showed higher levels in organic foodstuffs
that organic crops overall contain 21% more iron and 29% such as apple (Lucarini et al., 1999), peach (Carbonaro et al.,
more magnesium than their conventional counterparts. 2002), pear (Carbonaro et al., 2002), potatoes (Hamouz et al.,
Animal products. Very limited information is available. For 1999), onion (Ren et al., 2001), tomato (Mitchell et al., 2007),
milk, an evaluation of three different studies did not allow pepper (Pérez-López et al., 2007), orange (Tarozzi et al., 2006)
the identification of a difference due to the husbandry sys- and olive oil (Gutierrez et al., 1999), while some others did
tem. The same conclusion was reached by Woëse et al. (1997) not show any difference. It has been estimated in a recent re-
from four comparative studies performed on meat. Neverthe- view (Rembialkowska, 2007) that organic plant foods overall
less, it has been clearly shown that chickens grown in open contain double the amount of phenolic compounds. One study
fields compared with housing have somewhat higher iron lev- reported higher levels of resveratrol in organic wines (Levite
els (Castellini et al., 2002). et al., 2000).
The median contents of salicylic acid in organic vegetable
soups were significantly higher (117 vs. 20) than in the com-
2.4. Vitamin contents pared non-organic ones (Baxter et al., 2001). Organically-
grown tomatoes also have a higher salicylic acid content than
The number of studies dedicated to vitamin contents is lim- conventional ones (Rossi et al., 2008). It is noteworthy that
ited to some fruits and vegetables and eggs. Regarding water- salicylic acid is the active anti-inflammatory compound of as-
soluble vitamins, the most studied one has been Vitamin C pirin.
(ascorbic acid), a key vitamin for which higher daily intakes While some better anti-oxidant and anti-proliferative pos-
are recommended. Studies performed on potato (Fischer and itive effects on cancer cells have been observed with organic
Richter, 1986; Kolbe et al., 1995), tomato (Pither and Hall, vs. conventional extracts (Tarozzi et al., 2006; Olsson et al.,
1990; Caris-Veyrat et al., 2004), celeriac (Leclerc et al., 1991) 2006) the effects of chronic diets in humans have yet to be
and kale showed higher vitamin C levels in organically-grown fully investigated (Grinder-Pedersen et al., 2003).
products. In contrast, no difference was found during studies Table I highlights the key items of nutritional and sanitary
in leek, carrot or beetroot. A study on apple did not show any value of organic compared with conventional food.
difference either (Weibel et al., 2000). Very sparse and incon-
clusive data have been published on vitamin B1 and B2 levels.
Fat-soluble vitamin and carotenoid contents have been the 3. SANITARY ASSESSMENT OF ORGANIC
subjects of some studies. A higher vitamin E level in organic FOODSTUFFS
olive oil has been found in one study (Gutierrez et al., 1999).
Risk assessment is a scientific approach aiming at iden-
A review by Woëse et al. (1997) related 27 studies reporting
tifying known hazards and related risks. Contaminations by
on β-carotene levels in vegetables and no noticeable differ-
bacteria, viruses, worms, mycotoxins and agro-chemicals are
ences were found overall between organic and conventional
mainly involved. Not all aspects have yet been comparatively
foodstuffs. Brandt and Mölgaard (2001) reported a positive
studied such as hazards due to viruses or worms. We will there-
relationship between N-fertilization and β-carotene levels in
fore take some relevant examples on other aspects based on
carrots, while a recent study on organic vs. conventional toma-
more reliable information.
toes showed higher contents of β-carotene (Caris-Veyrat et al.,
2004). Another report (Martin et al., 2002) has shown that a
grass-rich regimen compared with a maize silage or concen- 3.1. Pathogenic microorganisms
trate generates milk with a higher vitamin E and β-carotene
content. Plant products. Concern has been raised by the EU Scien-
tific Committee on Food on the possible contamination of fruit
and vegetables by sewage sludges, animal manures or irriga-
2.5. Other phytomicronutrients tion waters (SCF, 2002). Indeed, they can provide pathogenic
microorganisms such as bacteria pathogenic to humans
Fruit and vegetables contain a large variety of mi- (Strauch, 1991), Listeria monocytogenes (Van Renterghem
crocompounds which are secondary metabolites in plants et al., 1991) or Salmonella sp. (Warnick et al., 2001). In fact,
such as polyphenols, resveratrol and some non-pro-vitaminic sewage sludges are not allowed for use in organic agricul-
carotenoids. These compounds have increasingly been shown ture and fresh manures are not used as such for fertilization
36 D. Lairon

Table I. Key items of nutritional and sanitary value of organic compared with conventional food.

Increased contents Reduced contents Comparable contents

Dry matter in vegetables Pesticide residues in all food Mycotoxins in cereals & milk
(mostly absent)
Some minerals (iron, magnesium) in Nitrates in vegetables Most minerals in fruit,
vegetables vegetables & cereals
Anti-oxidants in crops: Vitamin C (potatoes) Beta-carotene in fruit & veg-
Polyphenols in fruit & vegetables, Salicylic etables
acid in vegetables
Polyunsaturated fatty acids in meat and milk Saturated fatty acids in meat
Most nutrients in wholegrain organic cereals Protein content in grains
and derivatives

but composted for variable periods of time. It has been shown environment biodiversity and well-being. Anyway, the ques-
that the aerobic composting process, including a high temper- tion has repeatedly been raised of the level of contamination
ature phase, has the capability of markedly reducing or fully of organic foodstuffs by environmental pollution. Several sur-
eliminating the pathogenic microorganisms initially present veys have been dedicated to this matter. The SETRABIO sur-
such as Salmonella Enteritidis or E. coli (Lung et al., 2001; vey (SETRABIO, 2000) was conducted in France in 1993–99
Droffner and Brinton, 1995; Vuorinen and Saharinen, 1997; on 15,772 samples of raw or processed foodstuffs, mostly ce-
Tiquia et al., 1998). This could be less efficient in eliminating reals. 94% of organic samples were devoid of any contami-
Clostridium botulinum (Bohnel and Lube, 2000). In addition, nant residue while 3.3% only contained levels clearly above
when added to the soil, the exogenous bacteria are quickly the detection level but far less than legal maximum levels.
eliminated due to unfavorable conditions (Van Renterghem During the years, a trend has been observed for diminish-
et al., 1991; Dowe et al., 1997). In conclusion, it appears that ing contamination levels (i.e. 1.7% in 1998–99 vs. 4.4% in
the systematic use of aerobic composting is a suitable way to 1993–97). The French DGAL/COOPAGRI/ESMISAB survey
maximize the hygienic properties of organic fertilizers, and (2001) was then conducted in 1999–2001 on 1500 samples.
thus to avoid significant contamination of organic foodstuffs No residue of 78 potential phytochemical contaminants was
by pathogenic microorganisms. detected.
Animal products. A survey conducted in Austria (Zangerl Another study performed on vegetables and strawberries
et al., 2000) evaluated the degree of bacterial contamination in Sweden did not show any contamination of organic ones,
of dairy products using two indicators (E. coli and S. aureus) while 17–50% of conventional ones contained residues (Bourn
and did not find different levels in organic or conventional and Prescott, 2002). Results from the monitoring of pesti-
foodstuffs. Another survey conducted in France (Echevarria, cide residues in fruit and vegetables on the Danish market
2001) in 1997–99 in four different regions also found com- in 2000–01 found that only 2.8% of organic samples were
parable levels for total bacteria count or butyric microorgan- contaminated by pesticide residues, all being below the MRL
isms in milks produced with the two husbandry systems. In (Poulsen and Andersen, 2003). A recent survey conducted in
fact, the limited use of silage in organic husbandry could be Italy in the 2002–2005 period on 3500 samples of food of plant
beneficial for reducing the possible contamination of ruminant origin concluded that the vast majority (97.4%) of organic
feed by Listeria monocytogene E. coli O157s (Herriott et al., farming products do not contain detectable pesticide residues
1998). In contrast, a Danish study reported that about 100% (Tasiopoulou et al., 2007).
of poultry samples were contaminated by Campylobacter sp
in organic farms, whereas 36–49% of samples in conventional In contrast, it is known that a large proportion of usual
farms were (Heuer et al., 2001). foodstuffs are contaminated by phytochemical residues. This
To summarize, there is no convincing information indicat- has clearly been shown by the recent reports by the EU DG
ing that organic foodstuffs can be differently contaminated SANCO for 2001 and 2005. The 2005 report (DG SANCO,
than conventional ones. This is likely the result of efficient 2007) was based on 62 500 samples collected in EU member
preventive measures. Enteric viruses from five families (Picor- states and analyzed for 706 chemicals. 41% of samples were
naviridae, Caliciviridae, Astroviridae, Reoviridae and Aden- shown to be contaminated, with 4.7% of samples with levels
oviridae) are known to be harmful to humans but there is a above the legal maximum levels (MRL).
lack of comparative studies on this aspect. In fact, all these phytochemicals have been fully or perma-
nently authorized for use and residue levels considered harm-
less have been set up on the basis of available toxicity data.
3.2. Phytochemical contaminants Because these molecules have a high toxic capacity (includ-
ing mutagenesis and carcinogenesis) and the long-term effects
The banned use of toxic chemical pesticides, fungicides of chronic low-dose ingestion are not known in humans, the
and herbicides in organic agriculture systems is clearly a gold consumer and scientific concern about possible health damage
standard in terms of protection of land workers’ health and is real. The EU REACH project is aimed at better evaluating
 Nutritional quality and safety of organic food. A review 37

their toxicity and deleting the most risky ones. In that context, Italy (Biffi et al., 2004) or in cereal-based baby food (Beretta
organic products clearly show a real advantage. et al., 2002). Two studies have observed lower levels of
It is worthwhile mentioning that some natural extracts are aflatoxin in organic milks compared with conventional ones
used in organic agriculture for pest and disease control such (Gravert et al., 1989; Frank Hansen, 1990), whereas another
as pyrethrins, rotenone, copper salts and sulfur. The first two one found some high levels in organic milk (Ghidini et al.,
are quickly degraded in the fields and no contaminations of 2005). Organic beers collected in Belgium during 2003–2004
foodstuffs have been observed (Moore et al. 2000). Regarding were more frequently OTA-contaminated than their conven-
copper and sulfur, their use is limited to surface spraying and tional counterparts but this difference was not found in 2005
copper amounts have been progressively reduced. Contamina- (Anselme et al., 2006). Contamination of beers by DON was
tion levels have not been investigated. marginal.
In conclusion, contamination of foodstuffs, especially ce-
reals, is widespread but at a low level and an organic or con-
3.3. Mycotoxins ventional mode of production do not lead to overall noticeable
differences. In fact, the preventive measures used in organic
Mycotoxins are a large family of toxic molecules syn- systems, despite the non-use of fungicides, appears generally
thetized by molds developing on plants such as Aspergillus, able to maintain contamination at a low level.
Penicillium and Fusarium. Most are highly toxic and heat-
resistant and can be transferred along the alimentary chain 3.4. Nitrates
from plants to animals then human food. The most recognized
in terms of public health hazard are aflatoxins, Ochratoxin Nitrates are a matter of concern for public health due to
A (OTA), Fumonisins, Deoxynivalenol (DON), Patulin and their easy transformation into nitrites. Nitrites are highly reac-
Zearalenone. Overall, they display strong harmful effects such tive molecules capable of i/ competing with oxygen in blood
as immunotoxicity, teratogenesis, embryotoxicity, nephrotox- circulation for binding to hemoglobin, thus leading to methe-
icity and liver cancerogenesis. They all have very low legal moglobinemia and possible anoxia and, ii/ binding to sec-
maximum levels in food (0.1–2 ppb/kg body weight). ondary amines to generate nitrosamines which are among
Given the lack of use of chemicals (including chemical the most powerful natural cancer-promoting moities. For that
fungicides) in organic production, the question has been raised reason, maximum daily intakes for nitrates (3.7 mg/kg body
of a possible high level of contamination of organic produc- weight) and nitrites (0.07 mg/kg body weight) have been set
tions. Several surveys have been conducted to test this hy- up by the FAO/OMS JECFA, along with a maximum nitrate
pothesis. A study in Germany was conducted on cereals in level in drinking water (50 mg/L).
1997–98 (Birzele et al., 2000), indicating that most organic In the human diet, about 80% of nitrates are provided by
samples were contaminated by DON and a minority by OTA, vegetables, while nitrate levels in fruits, cereals and legumes
but that conventional samples were comparably contaminated. are very low (French Inventaire National de la Qualité Alimen-
A French study searched for contamination of cereals by sev- taire, 1982; Stopes et al., 1988; Cornée et al., 1992). Animal
eral mycotoxins and observed that conventional ones were fre- products contain very low levels of nitrates while processed
quently contaminated at low levels while organic ones were meat can contain added nitrites as a preservative.
less frequently contaminated but at high levels in a few cases Nitrates are naturally present in plants; they are absorbed
(Malmauret et al., 2002). Wheat contamination has also been through the roots and further used for amino-acid synthesis.
tested in a controlled DOC trial in Switzerland with mean They can accumulate in plant tissues, especially in vegetables.
DON levels of 74 ppb in organic and 109 ppb in conventional Several comparative studies have been performed on nitrate
wheat (Kuhn, 1999). A study in Denmark (Jorgensen et al., levels in vegetables.
1996) showed a trend for higher mean OTA levels in organic At the level of a retail shop, we performed a study on five
cereals but with the highest levels recorded in conventional vegetables in spring and observed significantly lower nitrate
ones. A recent study showed that organic wheat was less con- contents (–28 to –85%) in organic potato, leek, turnip and
taminated by Fusarium and contained less ZEN and DON than salad but not in organic kale (Lairon et al., 1982). A com-
conventional wheat: when fed to pigs, the bile samples from parable study performed in Austria on 17 vegetables found
organically-fed pigs contained lower concentrations of ZEN lower nitrate contents (–40% to –86%) in organic ones ex-
(Schneweis et al., 2005). cept in spinach (Rauter and Wolkerstorfer, 1982). In Germany,
Some other studies have been conducted on wheat flour, a comparison on carrots showed 61% less nitrates in organic
providing comparable or lower levels of mycotoxin con- ones (Pommer and Lepshy, 1985).
tamination for organic flour. Finally, processed cereal prod- At farm level, by comparing designated crops on matched
ucts such as bread, muesli and biscuits have been tested farms, three studies provided interesting data. We performed
(Parent-Massin et al., 2002). Overall, almost half of the or- one in Provence (Lairon et al., 1985) and found in the
ganic products were found to be contaminated to variable de- organically-grown samples –39% nitrates in lettuce, –46%
grees but no comparison was made with conventional ones. in potato, –22% in carrot and a higher content in one sam-
When a comparison was made, lower levels of contamination ple for leek. In Switzerland, organic lettuces grown over two
were found in organic ones (Usleber et al., 2000). No marked years contained 2.5 times less nitrates than their conven-
differences in OTA levels were found in cereal derivatives in tional counterparts in May–June, 1.2 times less in October
38 D. Lairon

Table II. Key aspects of a sustainable organic food chain.

Agricultural Food Food access Food Consumer

management production and security quality attitude
Soil fertility Reliable Fair trade High sensory
management certification value Confidence
Preventive crop High nutrient Appropriate
protection Sustained Local food content awareness
optimal access and demand
Animal welfare yields Controlled
pathogens
Environment Low inputs Optimized Health
and biodiversity supply No pesticide protection
protection chain residues
Farmer Sufficient Affordable Sustained
well-being income retail price well-being

and comparable high levels in November (Temperli et al., matter, some minerals (Fe, Mg) and anti-oxidant micronutri-
1982; Vogtmann et al., 1984). In contrast, two other studies ents (phenols, resveratrol) while animal organic products have
performed on tomato in Israel (Basker, 1992) and carrot in more polyunsaturated fatty acids. Regarding safety issues, the
Norway (Hogstad et al., 1997) did not show noticeable dif- vast majority (94–100%) of organic food does not contain any
ferences. pesticide residues, organic vegetables contain markedly less
Fertilization trials have also been designed to compare the nitrates (about half) and organic cereals contain overall com-
effects of fertilization regimes on nitrate contents in vegeta- parable levels of mycotoxins with conventional ones. The con-
bles. Overall, composts compared with chemical fertilizers clusions of this new review are in line with those of most re-
lead to lower nitrate accumulations in most vegetables such views published on this matter.
as lettuce, potato, carrot, turnip, leek, beetroot and spinach This critical literature review indicates that organic agricul-
(Lairon et al., 1984a, 1984b; Mäder et al., 1993) while an ture, as developed until now, has the potential to produce high-
absence of difference can also be found on a few occasions quality products with some relevant improvements in terms of
(Vogtmann et al., 1984). Nitrogen-rich organic fertilizers can contents of anti-oxidant phytomicronutrients, nitrate accumu-
also generate lower nitrate contents, but when mineralization lation in vegetables and toxic phytochemical residue levels.
conditions are very favorable they can also lead to high ni-
After decades of smooth increase in organic production, a
trate accumulations (Lairon et al., 1985; Termine et al., 1987).
sharp rise in consumer demand and producer awareness is oc-
Finally, it is noteworthy that some natural nitrogen-rich fer-
curring now. The nutritional and toxicological data I reported
tilizers such as Chili sodium nitrate can stimulate nitrate ac-
here should encourage such a new trend. Indeed, I think that
cumulation in sensitive vegetables (Lairon et al., 1984b). In-
organic agricultural systems, recently recognized as highly ef-
deed, it is clear that the level of nitrate in vegetables results
ficient and sustainable ones (El-Hage Scialabba, 2007), are
from nitrogen availability for roots, temperature, light expo-
now facing the challenge of turning from a “niche” into a
sure, and cultivars and species. The use of organic fertilization
potential long-term worldwide impact. This implies a global
with slowly or moderately available nitrogen (especially com-
development strategy for a sustainable organic food chain as
posts) is key to explaining the generally observed lower nitrate
summarized in Table II. To successfully achieve this goal new
accumulation in organic vegetables.
and significant support for the development of these sustain-
From the above data, it appears that depending on seasons,
able systems should be raised. For instance, raising new cul-
organic vegetables can overall contain at least 30–50% less
tivars and crops suited to low-input systems and more re-
nitrates than conventional ones. Because the habitual average
sistant to diseases, along with optimized nutrition value, is
level of nitrate intake is in the range 120–280 mg/d (French
one of the biggest challenges for future sustainable agricul-
Inventaire National de la Qualité Alimentaire, 1982; Cornée
ture worldwide. This may be performed in the context of sus-
et al., 1992; Stopes et al., 1988) and close to the maximum
tained biodiversity rather than GM productions, which are
daily dose defined by the FAO/OMS JECFA (i.e. 220 mg/60 kg
not allowed in organic/ecological farming systems. Regard-
person), and a marked increase in vegetable and fruit con-
ing nutritional aspects, I suggest that several research lines
sumption is widely recommended (WHO, 2004; PNNS, 2001),
are developed in the near future to improve sustainable food
organic vegetables can make this recommended increase safer
production systems such as increasing the levels of dry mat-
regarding the nitrate issue.
ter in foodstuffs to optimize nutrient density and intakes, in-
creasing the levels of recommended n–3 fatty acids and lower
4. CONCLUSION saturated ones, increasing levels of limiting minerals, vita-
mins and anti-oxidants, improving the taste and flavor of fruit
The present review based on available scientific literature and vegetables to stimulate awareness, developing the use
highlights that organic plant products tend to have more dry of wholemeal/partly-refined cereal flours rich in fibers and
 Nutritional quality and safety of organic food. A review 39

nutrients and the sourdough fermentation process for opti- derived purees; consequences on antioxidant plasma status in hu-
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