Are organics more nutritious than conventional foods? A comprehensive systematic review
Daiane Thaise de Oliveira Faoro,
Felipe Dalzotto Artuzo,
João Augusto Rossi Borges,
Cristian Rogério Foguesatto,
Homero Dewes,
Edson Talamini
Affiliations
Daiane Thaise de Oliveira Faoro
Interdisciplinary Center for Studies and Research in Agribusiness – CEPAN, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS, Brazil
Felipe Dalzotto Artuzo
Brazilian Institute of Bioeconomy – INBBIO. Bioeconomics Applied to Agribusiness Research Group. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS, Brazil
João Augusto Rossi Borges
Graduate Program in Agribusiness, Federal University of Grande Dourados – UFGD, Brazil
Cristian Rogério Foguesatto
Rural Development Sector, Federal University of Goiás – UFG, Brazil
Homero Dewes
Department of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, and Interdisciplinary Center for Studies and Research in Agribusiness – CEPAN, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS, Brazil
Edson Talamini
Department of Economics and International Relations – DERI, Faculty of Economics – FCE, and Bioeconomics Applied to Agribusiness Research Group, Interdisciplinary Center for Studies and Research in Agribusiness – CEPAN, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS, Brazil; Corresponding author. Interdisciplinary Center for Studies and Research in Agribusiness – CEPAN, Faculty of Agronomy. Av. Bento Gonçalves, 7712 – Bairro Agronomia, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP, Brazil.
The growing consumer interest fueled by the belief in the superiority of organic foods raises questions about their actual nutritional superiority over conventional ones. This assumption remains a controversial issue. The present study addresses scientific evidence to clarify this controversy and provide relevant insights for informed decision-making regarding dietary choices. We collected 147 scientific articles containing 656 comparative analyses based on 1779 samples of 68 vegetable, fruit, and other (cereals, pulses, etc.) foods, 22 nutritional properties, and nine residues. Results show that in 191 (29.1%) comparisons, there were significant differences between organic and conventional foods. In a similar quantity of cases (190; 29.0%), there were divergences in the results since some studies reported significant differences while others did not. Finally, most of the comparative analyses (275; 41.9%) showed no significant difference between organic and conventional foods. Therefore, the results herein show no generalizable superiority of organic over conventional foods. Claims for nutritious advantages would eventually be applied to specific comparisons, depending on the food type and nutritional parameter.
