Is eating organic actually healthier for you?

These days there are authority bodies like Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to regulate what substances are added or applied to food which include additives, preservatives, pesticides, fungicides and colouring agents (colourants). Processed and whole foods alike, sold to consumers, do contain chemicals, including products that are marketed as organic. The word “chemical” unfortunately is negatively associated with being unnatural, artificial, toxic, unsafe or unhealthy. Just fyi, the word “chemical” is defined as “any basic substance that is used in or produced by a reaction involving changes to atoms or molecules“. Whether produced from natural sources, artificial or synthetic, the use of food chemical additives has become inevitable for the production of processed foods aka “convenience foods” to now meet the demand of the 21st century. More commonly, this is to ensure various processed foods such as non-perishable food maintain their quality and longevity.

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity
World Health Organization (WHO)

This might not always appear to be a bad thing nor is it a new concept, that is where humans have played a part in significantly altering foods over thousands of years to better suit our tastes, and in more recent times, our pockets. Ever heard the saying: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade? You may then be surprised to hear that, life did not give us lemons actually. Yes, interesting fact, the lemon is a hybrid between a bitter orange and citron. And if you’re like me, giddly watching Netflix’s Chef’s Table, you’d be fascinated by the origins of corn dating back almost 9,000 years and was around 2cm long, which is about one tenth of the size of modern corn today. Over time, countless fruit and vegetable hybrids have emerged to improve the taste and convenience at home and in the food industry.

A more modern, and somewhat controversial, version of food modification involves biotechnology and commercial cultivation. It’s debatable whether Genetically Modified (GMO) is inherently good or bad (and for whom) but it does come with its range of benefits for the average consumer.

Whether food has been modified or has had a substance applied (or added) to it, it’s reasonable to expect that the final product is safe and suitable for consumption. That’s where administrative legislation comes into effect with maximum limits in place to safeguard our health. Where the term “eating healthy” commonly refers to nutrition, it is also important to understand that this can also mean eating safely to protect our health.

Why are food additives used in foods?

A food additive is a substance intended to affect the characteristics of any food. Indeed a common practice is to enhance the flavour, taste, aesthetic and safety of commercially available food. Whilst legislation mandates the limits of certain ingredients and additives to whole and processed foods, the practice of using artificial food additives hasn’t always been as safe for us as it is today.

During the industrial revolution around the mid 1850’s, at a time where there was high demand for food production at low cost, chemical compounds were found to be a cheap and available alternative to “revive” the look of spoiled or diluted foods. Heavy metals, toxic dye and other inorganic substances known to be used for industrial processes (including dyeing textiles), were commonly used as artificial additives in foods. Red lead was used to colour cheese and confectionary; copper arsenite was used to recolour tea leaves; whiteboard chalk used to whiten bread and borax used as a food preservative. These were just some of the toxic substances used in the 19th century causing numerous cases of toxin poisoning and even deaths.

This lead to stricter food safety regulations developing around the world. Industrial metals frequently used in synthetic food colorants like arsenic, copper, chromium, lead, mercury and zinc, would be prohibited for use as food ingredients. Whilst food technology and chemical analysis has continued to improve since the early 1880s, the main principle for food regulation remains the same: to protect consumers from toxic and harmful substances.

What is the impact of agricultural chemicals on human health?

So how are food safety regulations related to eating organic? In Australia, the Food Standards Code (the Code) sets out legislative requirements under the Legislation Act 2003. Chemicals including pesticides and fungicides that are used in agricultural practices are also captured in the Code which sets out the maximum residue limits that are permitted in foods for sale. These limits are determined by the amount required for the minimum effective level used under Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and after an assessment of the potential risk to public health and safety at the determined level.

Whilst it seems that the potential health risks associated with agricultural chemicals are acceptable, perhaps due to compound effects being minimal, we do know that these chemicals can linger in our system and the health effects from the chronic exposure in humans is still largely unknown. Eating organic however is one way to limit the concentration of agricultural chemicals normally found in conventional foods sourced using traditional farming methods.

A short film, The Organic Effect by Forsman & Bodenfors, shares an insightful message into the surprising effect of organic food on our bodies. Throughout the experiment, a Swedish family of five, only eat meals containing organic foods for two weeks. The levels of four common chemical pesticides, fungicides and plant growth regulators were sampled in their blood before the experiment and taken once again after the end of the two weeks. By the end of the experiment, it was found that almost all traces of the four chemicals had disappeared from the family members.

Are food additives safe?

Whilst there still needs to be more work done into the health risks of long term exposure to agricultural chemicals in fresh produce, food safety regulations for food additives and colorants have come a long way since the 19th century. In developed countries, there are approved lists for permitted natural colour pigments and synthetic origin colour pigments. Approval for permitted uses are dependent on toxicity tests including acute, subchronic and chronic toxicity, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, teratogenicity, reproductive toxicity, accumulation in the body, bioenergy effects and immune effects. Even so, studies have shown that synthetic food colourants and other food additives can have adverse behavioural effects in children. These can manifest as behavioural disorders, hyperactivity and attention deficits.

The six most common synthetic food colourants that are reported to have negative effects on attention deficity and hyperactivity are tartazine (E102), quinolone yellow (E104), sunset yellow FCF (E110), carmoisine/azorubine (E122), Ponceau 4R (E129) and Alura Red AC (E129).
Food additives: Colourants - Sezgin and Ayyildiz

More cases of allergies and asthma have been observed in the population and not surprisingly this has been closely been linked to the consumption of food additives and colourants.

How are organic farming practices different from regular farming practices?

Common agricultural chemicals including pesticides, fungicides and plant growth regulators were introduced when demand for fresh fruit and vegetables increased with population growth. As the film The Organic Effect points out, numerous agricultural chemical products are used on fresh produce which can easily stay in our system for an indeterminate amount of time. Choosing to eat organic is an optimal solution towards eliminating unnecessary and unwanted chemicals with unknown long-term side effects in our bodies. It’s time to support organic farming practices and leave conventional farming behind, here’s why:

The basic principles of organic farming systems are based on achieving optimum quantities of of products and food of high quality without the use of artificial fertilisers or synthetic chemicals. Standardisation in the industry focus on management practices, use of renewable resources, calculated conservation of energy, soil and water resources and the maintenance of environmental quality. In essence, the objective for this system is to be sustainable with a closed-loop production cycle. An organic production system can be outlined by the following:

production of quality food and fibre;
enhancing biological cycles in farming systems;
improving fertility of soils;
working within a closed system and limiting the use of non-renewable resources;
minimising environmental impacts from the effects of agricultural and processing practices; and
protection of eco-systems and welfare of animals.

How to read labels for organic foods

Choosing to eat organic is the first step to supporting the organic food industry for a more sustainable future and a healthier choice for your body. Just remember, when it comes to “chemicals”, they’re not all bad. In fact, the characteristics of chemicals in foods like natural preservatives, natural acidity regulators or even a naturally derived colouring agent can function to keep your organic food looking good and safe to eat.

When buying fresh produce, simply look for the label marked as organic. In Australia, there is no mandatory requirement for the certification of organic product sold domestically. Many businesses however, do choose to be certified by a private organic certification body who base their certification standards on a National Standard quality of export certification.

For organic processed food products, be sure to stay away from synthetic additives by looking at the ingredients list. In addition to the product being marked as organic, look at the label which may include claims such as no added artificial additives, colours or preservatives. An “all organic” food product will be substituted with organic certified ingredients that have been sourced naturally or are plant based and not a synthetic product. Some common food additives and colourants to look out for that are plant based ingredients, vegetable-derived products or produced from natural sources include: