Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
including for example, fair trade relations and short transport distances (Torjusen
et
al
. 2004).
This is exemplified in the way that organic food quality comprises a range of quality benefits:
authentic, functional, biological, nutritional, sensual and ethical benefits (Meier-Ploeger
1996). However, the scientific literature does not contain generally agreed methods to measure
the effect of food on the full range of benefits. However, a range of new methods are under
development, which could be able to provide such measurements (Meier-Ploeger
et
al
. 2004) if
they can be shown to consistently correlate with other measures of these properties. Since this
has not yet been achieved, the present text will only attempt to cover studies on quality in
relation to consumer health, as defined by measures that are generally accepted in the scien-
tific community, comprising many of the functional, biological and nutritional benefits of
good food quality. Some sensory properties are mentioned when they relate to health. This
chapter does not include a comprehensive review of the inf luence of production methods on
the taste and aroma of food, since little information is available and it is difficult to make any
meaningful conclusions beyond specific examples.
Concerning health, a typical rationale among consumers is that healthy soils, plants and
animals are the basis for human health, and therefore that care and concern for any of these
environmental factors will also promote better human health (Torjusen
et
al
. 2004). Since the
health of soils, plants and animals, as well as environmental effects are described elsewhere in
this topic, this chapter concentrates on the few aspects of food-related health that are directly
related to the chemical, microbiological and physical properties of the food:
• safety from pathogens;
• safety from toxic substances; and
• beneficial nutritional properties or other positive impacts on health.
However, although these aspects are discussed as separate topics below, in line with the way
scientific studies and regulatory issues are normally defined, most consumers still see them as
parts of a holistic picture where the good intentions of the people involved in the food supply
chain are the most important assurance for all aspects of food quality. In this context, strin-
gent safety measures and sophisticated process control, which are the cornerstone of food
quality assurance schemes in conventional supply chains, may be seen by consumers at best as
self-imposed restrictions that prove the sincerity of these good intentions, and at worst as
unfair, unnecessary burdens introduced through lobbying from big profit business to support
its suppression of small-scale or local producers.
Safety from pathogens
In conventional agriculture, food safety assurance systems to prevent transmission of patho-
gens by food are often based on the idea that all pathogen contamination should be prevented
through stringent isolation procedures, and if contamination occurs, the whole system should
be thoroughly decontaminated before production can be re-established. From this viewpoint,
the demand for access to outdoor areas for farm animals and the use of animal manure for
crop production represent almost unethical violations of best practice. Some authorities have
reacted by imposing what can appear as rather draconian requirements, such as heat treatment
of animal wastes before they can be used on crops. For example, the National Organic Program
(2000) regulations in the United States of America (USA) require:
that compost must be produced through a process that combines plant and animal
materials with an initial C:N ratio of between 25:1 and 40:1. Furthermore,
producers using an in-vessel or static aerated pile system must maintain the
