Abstract
The ‘organic’ label guarantees a production process that avoids the use of synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and hormones and minimises the use of veterinary drugs; however, consumers are demanding guarantees regarding food quality. This article reviews the current state of knowledge on the quality of organic animal products, including the authentication of their organic origin. Quality has been considered as an integrative combination of six core attributes: commercial value, and nutritional, sensory, technological, convenience and safety attributes. The comparison of these attributes between organic and conventional animal products shows high heterogeneity due to variability in farming pratices in both organic and conventional systems. To overcome this, we pinpoint the farming practices underlying the differences observed. This enables light to be shed on the consequences of possible trajectories of organic farming, if specifications are relaxed or tightened up on commitments concerning farming practices that impact product quality. Two recent meta-analyses showed better nutritional attributes in organic milk and meat linked to their higher poly-unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content, particularly n-3 PUFAs. Regarding safety, we point to a lack of integrated studies quantifying the balance between positive and negative effects. Organic farming reduces the risk of drug residues and antibiotic resistance, but both outdoor rearing and a frequently longer rearing period increase the animals’ exposition to environmental contaminants and the risk of their bioaccumulation in milk, eggs, meat and fish flesh. We highlight antagonisms between quality attributes for certain animal products (lamb, pork). In general, attributes are more variable for organic products, which can be explained by lower genetic selection (poultry), lower inputs and/or greater variability in farming conditions. However, the literature does not address the implications of this greater variability for the consumers’ acceptability and the necessary adaptation of manufacturing processes. Further research is needed to document the impacts on human nutritional biomarkers and health. Methods used to authenticate organic origin are based on differences in animal diet composition between organic and conventional systems, but their reliability is hampered by the variability in farming practices.
Highlights
Demand for organic animal products is surging across Europe, backed up by European public policy that endorses organic farming systems as part of the European Commission’s ‘‘Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system” in support of the wider EU Green Deal (EC, 2020)
One of the more pointful findings to emerge from this review is the large heterogeneity in results from studies comparing the quality of animal products in organic vs conventional systems, which stems from the great diversity of farming practices in both organic and conventional systems
Many studies exacerbate the differences by comparing products from ‘extensive’ organic farming systems against ‘intensive’ conventional systems, whereas the real picture is more nuanced
Summary
Demand for organic animal products is surging across Europe, backed up by European public policy that endorses organic farming systems as part of the European Commission’s ‘‘Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system” in support of the wider EU Green Deal (EC, 2020). There is substantial scope for improving the concentration of beneficial FA in meat from both organic and conventional systems Note that as these FA composition differences between organic and conventional meat are mainly linked to feeding regimens and especially the higher use of forage and pasture grazing in organic farming, there is a risk of variability in these quality attributes tied to the variability in grassland characteristics and management practices. Studies reported that compared to conventional pork, outdoor-raised organic pork scored lower on juiciness associated with a lower ultimate pH (pHu) and higher moisture loss, but without significantly affecting consumer preference in blind taste tests (Jonsall et al, 2002; Olsson et al, 2003) These examples illustrate how the sensory attributes of organic pork are largely dependent on on-farm practices (i.e. feeding regimen and housing) in interaction with breed genotypes (Lebret and Candek-Potokar, 2021). Differences in product composition induce differences in its optical properties that can serve to back-authenticate animal diet and, production system (Table 3)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
