Comparison of antioxidant properties in foods from organic and conventional agriculture

Organic farming is a suitable production method both to safeguard the territory and to offer quality products to the local and international market. Although high quality assurance requires a great deal of economic effort on the part of the consumer, organic products, after a slow start-up phase, are becoming increasingly popular in the food shopping sector, mainly in the most economically advanced areas (1). Beyond the evident toxicological safety guaranteed by organic products, in recent years the scientific debate has addressed the problem of how much the overall nutritional intake, in protective molecules (e.g. antioxidants) is comparable with similar foods obtained through conventional agriculture. In particular, in this study a comparison was made between the content of antioxidant molecules, and relative overall antioxidant activity, in conventional and organic foods and vegetable juices and after processing (2). The products under study come both from the LDO (Large Organized Distribution) and from crops of certain origin. In general, significant differences were observed in the various cases.