Estimados:Comparto con ustedes la versión de Reuters sobre un estudio (esperamos que el definitivo) acerca del supuesto valor nutricional de los alimentos orgánicos. Como ya lo habíamos indicado muchas veces los altos precios (hasta 50 a 70% por encima de los convencionales) que algunos consumidores pagan en USA y Europa no compensaban cualquier diferencia nutricional. Este estudio comisionado por el gobierno inglés confirma que no existe ninguna diferencia nutricional estadísticamente significativa. Cualquier efecto de estos resultados sobre el mercado esta aún por verse, sin embargo, como indica Reuters, en Inglaterra (también en USA y en otros países europeos) las ventas han bajado debido a la crisis. El sentido común nos dice que si no existe ninguna diferencia nutricional, por qué pagar más?
A la luz de este estudio, ASPEC estaría obligado a estudiar si en nuestro país los precios de los alimentos orgánicos son más altos que los convencionales. Los consumidores no deben pagar más si no existe ningún beneficio extra.
Saludos
Luis Destefano Beltrán, Ph.D.
PD. Aquellos que deseen tener el PDF del estudio me lo pueden pedir a mi correo luisdestefano@gmail.com
Organic food is no healthier, study finds
LONDON (Reuters) – 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.(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by Simon Jessop)
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