Pesticide and Environmental Update
Organic Blueberries
are Better!
The Bluecrop variety of highbush blueberries were
grown on five organic and conventional farms in New Jersey. The farms
shared comparable soils and weather conditions, and the berries were
harvested in precisely the same way. The scientists carrying out the study
are based at the USDA’s Genetic Improvement of Fruits and Vegetables
Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, and at Rutgers University in New
Brunswick, New Jersey.
The team found consistent and significant
differences in nutrient content. The organic blueberries contained 46 ORAC
units, a measure of total antioxidant capacity, while the conventional
berries contained 31 ORAC units.
Accordingly, the organic berries had over 50% more
total antioxidant activity. They also contained about 50% higher levels of
total anthocyanins, the natural plant phytochemicals that give blueberries
their dark color.
The organic blueberries also had 67% more total
phenolics. The authors’ concluding sentence reads: “Blueberries
produced from organic culture contained significantly higher amounts of
phytonutrients than those produced from conventional culture.”
Source: S.H. Wang et al., “Fruit Quality,
Antioxidant Capacity, and Flavonoid Content of Organically and
Conventionally Grown Blueberries,” Journal of Agricultural and Food
Chemistry, published on web July 1, 2008.
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