Many people buy organic foods because they believe organic foods have higher nutritional values than their non-organic counterparts. Researchers at Washington State University wanted to find out if these consumer beliefs were accurate. They tested both organic and conventional strawberries grown in 13 side-by-side California fields.
Here are a few of their findings:
- The organic strawberries had significantly higher antioxidant activity and concentrations of ascorbic acid and phenolic compounds.
- The organic strawberries had longer shelf life.
- The organic strawberries had more dry matter, or, "more strawberry in the strawberry."
- Anonymous testers, working at times under red light so the fruit color would not bias them, found one variety of organic strawberries was sweeter, had better flavor, and once a white light was turned on, better appearance. The testers judged the other two varieties to be similar.
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Robin Shreeves blogs about finding eco-friendly food options at www.mnn.com/featured-blogs/sustainablefood.
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