(Oct 29) LONDON - ORGANIC food is more nutritious than ordinary produce and may help people live longer, according to the biggest study of its kind into the issue.

Evidence from the £12million (S$36 million), four-year study will end years of debate and is likely to overturn government advice that eating organic food is no more than a lifestyle choice, said a report in Britain's Sunday Times yesterday.

The study found that organic fruit and vegetables - grown without the use of conventional pesticides and artificial fertilisers - contain as much as 40per cent more antioxidants, which scientists believe can cut the risk of cancer and heart disease. They also had higher levels of beneficial minerals such as iron and zinc.

Professor Carlo Leifert, coordinator of the European Union- funded project, said the differences were so marked that organic produce would help to increase the nutrient intake of people not eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

'If you have just 20per cent more antioxidants and you cannot get your kids to do five a day, then you might just be okay with four a day,' he said.

Britain's Food Standards Agency (FSA) confirmed it was reviewing the evidence before deciding whether to change its advice.

British ministers and the agency have said that there are no significant differences between organic and ordinary produce.

Researchers grew fruit and vegetables and reared cattle on adjacent organic and non-organic sites on a 293ha farm attached to Newcastle University, and at other sites in Europe.

They found that levels of antioxidants in milk from organic herds were up to 90per cent higher than in milk from conventional herds.

As well as finding up to 40per cent more antioxidants in organic vegetables, they also found that organic tomatoes from Greece had significantly higher levels of antioxidants, including flavonoids, thought to reduce heart disease.

The findings appear to conflict with the British government's advice that buying organic food is a lifestyle choice and that there is no clear evidence it is 'more nutritious than other food'.

'There is enough evidence now that the level of good things is higher in organics,' Prof Leifert said.

The organic market in Britain has boomed in recent years, growing by 25 per cent annually on average, and is now worth nearly £2 billion a year.

Organic produce is typically about 30 per cent more expensive, although for products such as cherry tomatoes and carrots, it is about double the price. Supermarket organic milk is 18 per cent more expensive.

Mr Andrew Wadge, the FSA's chief scientist, said that even if the review found significant differences, the government would still need to assess any impact on health.

He said the debate over the relative benefits of organic food should not blur the key message on diet and health.

'The organic brand has been hugely successful,' he said. 'But the most important issue is not whether people are eating organic or not, but whether they are eating a healthy balanced diet.'

According to Britain's Organic Monitor, the estimated retail sales for Singapore's organic food market stood at about US$40 million (S$58 million) last year. Across Asia, the market size is set to hit close to US$1 billion this year, it added.

There are now more than 40 organic stores, cafes and warehouses in Singapore, and demand for organic food is rising.

Cold Storage opened the island's first organic supermarket, Naturally Marketplace, at VivoCity last year. It offers nearly 1,000 organic product lines, ranging from milk to wines to cleaning aids.

'In 2006, our organic food sales saw double-digit growth. And worldwide sales of organic food has also seen healthy growth as more and more people become aware of the benefits of eating an organic diet,' Ms Trudy Fawcett, senior category manager for natural and organic foods at Cold Storage, said in a Business Times report earlier this year.

Another retailer, Four Seasons Market at Great World City, said it was selling 60 per cent more products compared with six months ago.

Manager Mindy Chua said: 'There is a definite increase in people consuming organic food as they become more aware and as the economy gets better. People are willing to pay more to maintain good health.'