Written question asked by Stephen Hesford (Labour) on Tuesday, 28 April 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 30 April 2009. It was answered by Baroness Primarolo (Labour) on Wednesday, 6 May 2009 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Organic Food

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the potential effects on public health of organic foods in the last 10 years.

Answer: The Food Standards Agency has advised that it has commissioned an independent systematic literature review to evaluate the evidence on nutrient content differences between organic and conventionally-produced foodstuffs and any associated health benefits. The review has just been completed and the results have been submitted by the researchers to a peer-reviewed scientific journal. The full review report will be made available at the same time as the summary results are published in the scientific press.The Agency continues to assess new research on organic foods as it is published.

Secondary information