Description
Book SynopsisThe internet is rife with biased and unsubstantiated claims from the organic industry, and the treatment of issues such as food safety and quality by the media (if it bleeds, it leads) tends to have a negative impact on consumer perceptions about conventional food. Until recently, more and more consumers in many countries were opting to buy organic food over conventional food, resulting in a radical shift in food retailing. This was due to concerns over chemical residues, food poisoning resulting in recalls, food scares such as mad-cow disease, issues like gene-modified (GM foods), antibiotics, hormones, cloning and concerns over the way plants and animals are being grown commercially as food sources. As a result there has been an expansion of the organic industry and the supply of organic foods at farmers'' markets, supermarkets and specialty stores.
Organic Production and Food Quality: A Down to Earth Analysisis the first comprehensive book on how organic production method
Trade Review
"This comprehensive book is welcome in that it not only covers the quality of crops in separate chapters on vegetables, fruit and cereal grains but it also deals, in equal measure, with the quality of meat, milk products and eggs." (The Biologist, March 2014)
“Everyone with a serious interest in the differences between organic and conventional food should have this book on their coffee table or bookshelf, because it is the most comprehensive and objective library of present evidence.” (Int. J. Environment & Pollution, 1 May 2013)
"Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals; general readers." (Choice, 1 December 2012)
"This book by Professor Blair is a very valuable analysis of how organic food production affects food quality, and the conclusions and suggestions should be of great interest to all sectors of the food industry, including researchers and producers. Hopefully the book will also benefit consumers by encouraging the media and the food industry to present a more accurate picture of the relative quality of conventional and organic foods." (Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Science, 1 May 2012)
"This is a remarkable book . . . Everyone with a serious interest in the differences between organic and conventional food should have this book on their coffee table or bookshelf because it is the most comprehensive and objective library of present evidence." (Prof. John Hodges, Food and Nutrition Sciences)
"Dr. Blair's book is a comprehensive and balanced review of the scientific literature related to the organic versus conventional debate. . . . Each chapter provides an unbiased overview of the literature related to a particular food item and lets the reader decide if their preference for or against a particular organic food is supported by research." (Journal of Applied Poultry Research, 1 December 2012)
"This unique book gives an objective and thorough view of a major issue in health, nutrition, food quality, the environment and food production systems and is of interest to consumers, farmers, nutritionists, medical specialists, environmentalists and businesses in the food chain." (Journal of Tropical Agricultural Association, Winter 2012)
Table of ContentsForeword ix
1 The Shift to Organic Food 1
Background 1
Organic regulations 3
Consumer perceptions 7
Analysis of the topic 9
References 10
2 Consumer Concerns About Food 13
The concerns 14
Consumer concerns and attitudes 16
Food regulations 20
Justification for consumer attitudes about the safety of organic and conventional foods 21
Range of organic foods 22
References 23
3 Vegetable Produce 25
Pest and disease control 25
Documented findings on pesticide residues 27
Other chemical contaminants 33
Other toxic and antinutritional compounds in produce 35
Hormones 35
Can organic produce cause food poisoning? 36
Nutrient concentrations 42
Organoleptic quality 51
Identification of organic produce 53
Food from afar 54
Finally: watch which salad veg you eat 55
Conclusions 55
References 56
4 Fruit 61
Pesticide residues 61
Other risks with fruit 68
Chemical residues 68
Microbial problems 70
Mycotoxins 70
Cloning and gene-modified fruit 71
Nutrient concentrations 72
Appearance and organoleptic qualities 83
Preserves 86
Conclusions 88
References 89
5 Cereal Grains 93
Pesticide residues 93
Chemical residues 96
Other issues relating to grains 97
Mycotoxins: are organic grains less safe? 98
Gene-modified crops 102
Nutritional and organoleptic qualities 103
Wheat 104
Oats 108
Barley 108
Conclusions 108
References 109
6 Meat 111
Chemical and pesticide residues 111
Organic meat 116
Hormones 121
Hormone residue levels in meats. Do government agencies monitor for these? 123
Developing countries 124
Antibiotics 125
Bacterial contamination of meat 127
Cloning 129
Mad-cow disease 131
Contaminated beef products implicated 132
Gene modification 133
Nutritional and organoleptic qualities 135
Beef 135
Pork 141
Poultry 146
Fish 150
Conclusions 157
References 158
7 Milk and Milk Products 163
The hormone issue 163
Raw milk 165
Antibiotic residues 167
Pesticide and chemical residues 168
Nutritional and organoleptic qualities 170
Research findings 170
Consumer findings 175
Conclusions 179
References 180
8 Eggs 183
Cholesterol 184
Salmonella and food-poisoning 187
Contamination with residues 191
Antibiotics 191
Chemical residues 192
Egg quality 198
Research findings 198
Consumer findings 203
Conclusions 203
References 204
9 Is Organic Food Safer? 207
Residues 207
Vegetable produce 207
Fruit 208
Cereal grains 208
Meat 208
Milk 209
Eggs 209
Food poisoning 210
Mycotoxins 211
Other anti-nutrients 211
Nitrate 211
Significance of the findings in relation to health 213
Other research on food and health 216
Health of farmers and farm workers 219
Other approaches 221
Conclusions 222
References 223
10 Is Organic Food More Nutritious and “Tasty”? 227
Reviews 227
Analysis by food group 237
Vegetable produce 237
Fruit 238
Cereal grains 239
Meat 239
Milk 239
Eggs 240
Taste 240
References 240
11 Psychology of Organic Food Choice 243
The safety issue 244
Nutritional quality and taste 244
Environmental issues 248
Image 252
Conclusions 256
References 256
12 Conclusions 259
Reference 263
Appendix 265
Index 267
