[英语阅读]研究：有机食品未必更有营养

Organic food is no healthier, study finds

英国伦敦卫生和热带医学学院的研究人员最近发现，有机食品的营养价值和有利健康因素与常规食品并没有多大差别。他们检索了过去50年中公开发表过的数万篇相关文献，并对其中162篇进行了系统分析；结果发现，多数常见营养成分在有机食品和常规食品中的含量没有明显差异。

Organic food has no nutritional or health benefits over ordinary food, according to a major study published Wednesday.

Organic food has no nutritional or health benefits over ordinary food, according to a major study published Wednesday.

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said consumers were paying higher prices for organic food because of its perceived health benefits, creating a global organic market worth an estimated $48 billion in 2007.

A systematic review of 162 scientific papers published in the scientific literature over the last 50 years, however, found there was no significant difference.

"A small number of differences in nutrient content were found to exist between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs, but these are unlikely to be of any public health relevance," said Alan Dangour, one of the report's authors.

"Our review indicates that there is currently no evidence to support the selection of organically over conventionally produced foods on the basis of nutritional superiority."

The results of research, which was commissioned by the British government's Food Standards Agency, were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Sales of organic food have fallen in some markets, including Britain, as recession has led consumers to cut back on purchases.

The Soil Association said in April that growth in sales of organic products in Britain slowed to just 1.7 percent in 2008, well below the average annual growth rate of 26 percent over the last decade, following a plunge in demand at the end of the year.