NATURAL FOODS!

FROM THE HARVESTER, MARCH 1973

Are the health food “addicts” getting all that they pay for when they drop in to purchase the week’s supply of sunflower seeds, organic honey, etc. at the local health food store?

Chances are they are not. Today, the health food store is no longer the private domain of the hypochondriac, diet faddist and counter-culturists. More and more middle-class housewives are buying many health foods and they are paying a premium price for them.

A study by three University of Florida scientists has analyzed 24 health foods and 24 traditional foods. Their conclusion? The biggest difference between the two was the price.

“Comparison shopping in health food stores and supermarkets revealed prices of so-called ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ foods run as much as 200 percent more than traditional foodstuff. It’s a luxury most Americans can’t afford,” says Dr. Howard Appledorf, assistant professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Appledorf said lab analyses showed no difference in nutritional composition, but more spoilage organisms were found in health foods – probably as a result of improper packaging, poor sanitary procedures, and the absence of preservatives.

None of the foods analyzed contained pesticide residues in excess of the tough federal tolerance of .01 parts per million. However, measurable levels of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) were detected in seven of the health foods and three of the traditional foods. Although harmless at the levels detected, the PCB contamination was considered unusual and could stem from the use of the chemicals in a variety of manufacturing processes for plastics, polishes, dyes and heat-absorbing materials.

Appledorf said the findings indicate many foods contain a variety of low-level contaminants and that purchasing foods from a specialty store doesn’t guarantee purity.

“Although no difference was found in the nutritional composition of foods, this does not imply that other more subtle differences in flavor, vitamins or functionality might not exist,” Appledorf said. “However, the question must be raised as to whether these factors, if indeed they exist, justify the rather substantial price difference between these two groups of foods,” he said, adding that he thinks some people choose organic and natural foods is because they fear man-made chemicals in the regular food supply.

Appledorf points out, however, that microbial infectious agents – not food additives – are responsible for practically all food poisonings. The safety of a food supply without additives to prevent the growth of these disease-producing organisms would be much more questionable, he asserted.

Nostalgia for farm-fresh foods and the coziness of a small store compared to a cold, impersonal supermarket could also be a strong motivation for many to buy health foods, Appledorf added. He attributes the higher prices for these foods to the small size of most health food stores, saying that those retailers must mark up their prices by as much as 50 percent above the wholesale price, while the volume of the supermarket trade requires a lower mark-up for profitable operation.

Appledorf concludes that most health food prices are probably fair after all, owing to the increased costs of production. The organic farmer may not have to buy fertilizers or pesticides, but he gets much lower crop yields.