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There’s a lot that’s been written about why we should – and for that matter why we shouldn’t – be eating organic food these days. I don’t intend to go into a monologue covering off on every one of these arguments. Instead, I thought it might be worthwhile taking a quick look at some of the chemicals that can find their way into our food chain. But first, let’s consider why they’re there in the first place. Fertilizers and pesticides are the two main sources of introduced chemicals into our food chain. Fertilizers are intended to increase plant foliage and generally to make plants appear larger and more healthy. Research has found that synthetic fertilizers lower the nutritional content of fruits and vegetables and also have...

There’s a body of anecdotal opinion to suggest organic foods taste superior to conventionally grown alternatives. Unfortunately, the taste experiments conducted with human subjects have generally failed to provide conclusive evidence in favour of organically grown food. Scientists puzzle over this since there is sufficient evidence to confirm that many varieties of fresh organic produce contain higher quantities of flavour compounds (phytochemicals) compared to the conventional ones. It’s possible that many of the human subjects were less capable of detecting taste differences than researchers had anticipated. Many species of animal are recognised for their ability to detect subtle differences in taste. In the wild this may be an...

A study conducted by Dr Jane A. Hoppin from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, N.C., has found that pesticide exposure increases the risk of asthma. The presentation, given at the European Respiratory Annual Congress in Stockholm, Sweden last weekend, detailed the findings from a study of more than 20,000 United States farmers. The study found that farmers exhibiting a history of high pesticide exposure were 200% more likely to suffer from asthma. Hoppin explained that, “the link between pesticide exposure and asthma risk remained statistically significant after adjusting for a variety of potentially confounding factors including age, smoking, body weight and state of residence”. The study...

A major study conducted by Professor Jim Stevenson and a team of researchers from The University of Southampton has established a positive correlation between food additives and the incidence of hyperactivity in children. While many parents, at least intuitively, have appreciated for some time the need to minimise the intake of suspect food additives, particularly in children pre-disposed to hyperactivity, the research provides a timely reminder of the need for all of us to be diligent when reading and interpreting food labels. What are food additives? Simply put, food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavour or improve its taste and appearance. The most common food additives include antioxidants, preservatives, colours, emulsifiers,...