TY - JOUR
T1 - Composition differences between organic and conventional meat
T2 - a systematic literature review and meta-analysis
AU - Srednicka-Tober, Dominika
AU - Baranski, Marcin
AU - Seal, Chris
AU - Sanderson, Roy
AU - Benbrook, Charles
AU - Steinshamn, Havard
AU - Gromadzka-Ostrowska, Joanna
AU - Rembialkowska, Ewa
AU - Skwarlo-Sonta, Krystyna
AU - Eyre, Mick D.
AU - Cozzi, Giulio
AU - Larsen, Mette Krogh
AU - Jordon, Teresa
AU - Niggli, Urs
AU - Sakowski, Tomasz
AU - Calder, Philip C
AU - Burdge, Graham C.
AU - Sotiraki, Smaragda
AU - Stefanakis, Alexandros
AU - Yolcu, Halil
AU - Stergiadis, Sokratis
AU - Chatzidimitriou, Eleni
AU - Butler, Gillian
AU - Stewart, Gavin
AU - Leifert, Carlo
PY - 2016/1/26
Y1 - 2016/1/26
N2 - Demand for organic meat is partially driven by consumer perceptions that organic foods are more nutritious than non-organic foods. However, there have been no systematic reviews comparing specifically the nutrient content of organic and conventionally produced meat. In this study, we report results of a meta-analysis based on sixty-seven published studies comparing the composition of organic and non-organic meat products. For many nutritionally relevant compounds (e.g. minerals, antioxidants and most individual fatty acids (FA)), the evidence base was too weak for meaningful meta-analyses. However, significant differences in FA profiles were detected when data from all livestock species were pooled. Concentrations of SFA and MUFA were similar or slightly lower, respectively, in organic compared with conventional meat. Larger differences were detected for total PUFA and n-3 PUFA, which were an estimated 23 (95% CI 11, 35)% and 47 (95% CI 10, 84)% higher in organic meat, respectively. However, for these and many other composition parameters, for which meta-analyses found significant differences, heterogeneity was high, and this could be explained by differences between animal species/meat types. Evidence from controlled experimental studies indicates that the high grazing/forage-based diets prescribed under organic farming standards may be the main reason for differences in FA profiles. Further studies are required to enable meta-analyses for a wider range of parameters (e.g. antioxidant, vitamin and mineral concentrations) and to improve both precision and consistency of results for FA profiles for all species. Potential impacts of composition differences on human health are discussed.
AB - Demand for organic meat is partially driven by consumer perceptions that organic foods are more nutritious than non-organic foods. However, there have been no systematic reviews comparing specifically the nutrient content of organic and conventionally produced meat. In this study, we report results of a meta-analysis based on sixty-seven published studies comparing the composition of organic and non-organic meat products. For many nutritionally relevant compounds (e.g. minerals, antioxidants and most individual fatty acids (FA)), the evidence base was too weak for meaningful meta-analyses. However, significant differences in FA profiles were detected when data from all livestock species were pooled. Concentrations of SFA and MUFA were similar or slightly lower, respectively, in organic compared with conventional meat. Larger differences were detected for total PUFA and n-3 PUFA, which were an estimated 23 (95% CI 11, 35)% and 47 (95% CI 10, 84)% higher in organic meat, respectively. However, for these and many other composition parameters, for which meta-analyses found significant differences, heterogeneity was high, and this could be explained by differences between animal species/meat types. Evidence from controlled experimental studies indicates that the high grazing/forage-based diets prescribed under organic farming standards may be the main reason for differences in FA profiles. Further studies are required to enable meta-analyses for a wider range of parameters (e.g. antioxidant, vitamin and mineral concentrations) and to improve both precision and consistency of results for FA profiles for all species. Potential impacts of composition differences on human health are discussed.
KW - Organic foods
KW - Animal products
KW - Meat
KW - Iron
KW - Meat fat composition
KW - n-3 PUFA
KW - n-6 PUFA
KW - POLYUNSATURATED FATTY-ACIDS
KW - CORONARY-HEART-DISEASE
KW - ALPHA-LINOLENIC ACID
KW - NUTRITIONAL QUALITY
KW - DAIRY-PRODUCTS
KW - RED MEAT
KW - PLANT FOODS
KW - N-3 PUFA
KW - HEALTH
KW - CHAIN
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84959419250
U2 - 10.1017/S0007114515005073
DO - 10.1017/S0007114515005073
M3 - Review
C2 - 26878675
SN - 0007-1145
VL - 115
SP - 994
EP - 1011
JO - British Journal of Nutrition
JF - British Journal of Nutrition
IS - 6
ER -