When spending additional money on organic foods, shoppers may not be getting all of the benefits they think they are paying extra to receive.

Lora Beth Brown, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science, addressed uncertainty about organic foods and various food myths.

"Organic food has been grown or produced without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers," Brown said. "But studies have not shown that organic food is automatically better for you."

Organic food seems to be better for the environment, but there is no substantial evidence it is more nutritious for people, she said.

The only time organic is better for those eating it is when it is grown locally. Then there is a shorter time between harvest and consumption, so fewer preservatives are used to keep it fresh.

"Organic doesn't automatically mean safer and free from problems," Brown said.

She said manure that is used to fertilize organic produce can get on the produce and cause problems. It is possible in organic fields, that pesticides were once used, meaning the residue can make its way onto organic produce. Organic means that no pesticides are being used any longer on those fields.

Dave Gazaway is the produce manager at Smith's Food and Drug and oversees regular and organic produce they sell.

"Organic produce comes in, it's too expensive, it doesn't get purchased, and so half of it gets thrown away," Gazaway said. He said the main shoppers in the area are students and elderly people and that shopping organic is not a priority or a possibility for many of them.

"Everyone's on a health kick right now, but with the economy the way it is, that trend seems to be slipping," Gazaway said.

Rory Ward, produce manager at Macey's, agreed that shoppers in Provo are on a tighter budget compared to neighboring areas. As a result, Macey's does not offer as much in the way of organic produce. They rotate through some common items, but do not offer everything in an organic option. Red, green and romaine lettuce, packaged mushrooms, packaged grape tomatoes, apples and green onions are regularly offered organically.

"We've got to be smart about what we bring in," Ward said. "A bunch of organic cilantro is $2.99 but a regular bunch is 79 cents. The price is more important than the benefits to most people around here."

Another item with a large price difference is different colored eggs.

"There is no nutritional difference in eggs depending on the shell color," Brown said. The difference in color is decided by the breed of the chickens.

Brown said there were some products on the market that can mislead consumers.

One such product is whole wheat bread. Companies often sell whole wheat bread, which is different than 100 percent whole wheat bread. Whole wheat means that although whole-wheat flour is used, white flour and caramel coloring is used as well to make the bread.

Another product, soymilk, provides an alternative to people who are lactose intolerant, but Brown said it fails to offer the benefits of regular or organic milk. Soymilk does not naturally contain calcium or vitamin B12.

Copyright Brigham Young University 23 Oct 2008