Liza Oates

BACKGROUND: Increasingly, Australians are choosing to consume organically produced food, but only a small percentage consume organic food exclusively, and there is little information in the scientific literature that describes their actual level of intake. In order to provide a more meaningful description of Australian organic consumers the ‘Organic Consumption Survey’ and ‘Organic Food Intake Survey’ were conducted online in 2010. The aims were to provide information about the characteristics of regular organic consumers and quantify levels of organic consumption.RESULTS: The majority of participants (n = 318) were female (80.3%), 25–55 years old (80.3%), living in urban areas (61.2%), born in Australia (68.9%) and were in a healthy weight range (55.5%). Organic fruit and vegetables had the highest uptake by organic consumers and meat products the lowest. The majority of participants consumed at least 65% organic food in their diet, including 35% certified organic food.CONCLUSION: A better understanding of organic consumers may help to serve the long‐term interests of the organic industry and other stakeholders of food marketing. Clearer definitions of organic consumers may also inform research evaluating the purported health benefits of organic foods. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry

The effects of pesticides on the general population, largely as a result of dietary exposure, are unclear. Adopting an organic diet appears to be an obvious solution for reducing dietary pesticide exposure and this is supported by biomonitoring studies in children. However, results of research into the effects of organic diets on pesticide exposure are difficult to interpret in light of the many complexities. Therefore future studies must be carefully designed. While biomonitoring can account for differences in overall exposure it cannot necessarily attribute the source. Due diligence must be given to appropriate selection of participants, target pesticides and analytical methods to ensure that the data generated will be both scientifically rigorous and clinically useful, while minimising the costs and difficulties associated with biomonitoring studies. Study design must also consider confounders such as the unpredictable nature of chemicals and inter- and intra-individual differences in exposure and other factors that might influence susceptibility to disease. Currently the most useful measures are non-specific urinary metabolites that measure a range of organophosphate and synthetic pyrethroid insecticides. These pesticides are in common use, frequently detected in population studies and may provide a broader overview of the impact of an organic diet on pesticide exposure than pesticide-specific metabolites. More population based studies are needed for comparative purposes and improvements in analytical methods are required before many other compounds can be considered for assessment.