Is natural food of better quality?

By Siti Nurjanah

JAKARTA (JP): The rapid development in food processing and technology has led to the invention of chemical food additives and the use of pesticides in farming.

Unfortunately, traces of the pesticides remain in the food and some food additives have been found to pose potential risks to humans, such as inducing cancer and causing asthma.

This has led some people to change their eating habits, as they have now turned to natural foods in the belief that these foods are healthier.

However, to some extent, this is not true because some of these natural foods contain substances that are poisonous, and certain pesticides and food additives are often still needed to improve and maintain the quality of these so-called natural foods.

Constant advertising stressing the benefits of switching to organically grown and unprocessed foods has increased the sales of these products. However, the increase in sales has not been followed by an increase in nutritional quality or safety assurances.

Buying natural foods does not guarantee better nutrition, taste or safety for consumers, according to a study conducted in 1994. Moreover, there is no standard definition for natural food. Some people define it as organically grown food, while others claim that natural means no chemical treatment or processing.

These people also consider food to be organically grown only if no artificial fertilizers, such as urea, are used. They believe that only manure or compost should be used for fertilizer.

While the definition of natural food is still unclear, research shows that natural poisons and natural toxicants occur in a wide variety of natural foods. The risks posed by these poisons and toxicants vary depending on the type, the amount and the length of exposure to these compounds.

Human health will not be affected by natural toxicants if they are eaten in normal amounts. This is partly because they will be neutralized or excreted by the body before they cause harm. However, in many cases, naturally occurring substances, even in small amounts, may cause a threat to humans.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in the United Kingdom claimed in 1993 that some naturally occurring toxicants had been linked to harmful effects when foods containing very small quantities of these natural toxicants were ingested over a long period of time.

However, most of these toxicants are only harmful under special circumstances, such as when eaten in very large quantities or when improperly prepared.

Protease inhibitors, a substance found in many kinds of beans, potatoes and cereals, are one example of natural toxicants. These substances can impair growth and food utilization, and cause pancreatic problems.

In relation to food safety, pesticides have been claimed to pose a potential risk to people because of their residual effects. Therefore, activists are also campaigning against the use of pesticides in natural foods.

Yet, to some extent, pesticides are still needed to improve the quality of food, increase crop yields and help to lengthen the storage time of food.

Moreover, pesticides are also important for food hygiene because they prevent rats, mice, flies and other insects from contaminating the food.

Some pesticides are used before the harvest, while others are employed after harvesting, although this is more likely to leave residues on the food. It is estimated that without pesticides, 30 percent of the world's crops would be lost before reaching consumers (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, U.K., 1994).

Natural food campaigners also object to the use of food additives. It is true that some additives may cause health problems. Asthma, for example, is often linked to sulfites, and some cancers are linked to artificial nonnutritive sweeteners.

However, in many cases, the use of additives brings many benefits. Some antioxidants are able to prevent some nutrients from oxidizing. In the same way, the use of artificial nonnutritive sweeteners provides benefits to people who are suffering from diabetes. Artificial nonnutritive sweeteners are also very beneficial to fight obesity in adults and children.

Obesity is a condition of having excessive bodily fat. Therefore, nonnutritive sweeteners are a better choice for fighting obesity because they will not be converted to energy during metabolism. This means that no additional fat will be added to the body because excess energy is stored in the body in the form of fat.

Another example of the benefits afforded by food additives is the organic acids which can be used to prevent browning in foods such as potatoes and apples. Browning in food is not desirable because it has been proven to reduce the available protein in foods.

Despite the fact that natural foods have been promoted as possessing better qualities, in many cases, people cannot simply depend on natural foods because they do not provide enough nutrients. Therefore, vitamin pills, mineral pills or other food supplements are needed to complete their diet.

The elderly, in particular, fall into this category. Others who cannot rely on natural foods are those on restricted diets for medical reasons; those who can not absorb nutrients because of coeliac disease; those who have had radiation treatment or intestinal surgery; people who suffer from chronic bowel disorders; and strict vegetarians, primarily women who are pregnant or breast feeding, according to Australian researcher Trevor Robbins (1997).

Moreover, Robbins also states that although much work needs to be done to confirm these findings, recent research results from several countries suggest that specific vitamin and mineral supplements may help a range of medical conditions. For example, calcium supplements can reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure during pregnancy. Meanwhile, vitamin C supplements can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, and vitamin E supplements have been reported to be able to reduce coronary diseases in diabetics.

In contrast to Robbins, many researchers have found that excessive intakes of supplement pills such as vitamin A can be harmful. Therefore consulting a doctor is necessary before getting on a supplement regimen.

Finally, although natural foods contain no residues of chemicals or pesticides, they must be properly prepared before they are eaten.

On the other hand, some pesticides and food additives can provide many benefits as long as they do not exceed permitted doses or go beyond permitted levels. Chemical and pesticide residues, if any, can be eliminated by washing thoroughly and peeling the skin of the food.

Therefore, there is no need to worry too much about the food we eat. Eating a wide variety of foods which have been carefully treated provides better nutrition and will eventually result in a healthy body.

The writer is a lecturer in the Department of Agro-Product Technology at the University of Lampung's School of Agriculture.