Gezondheid als marketinginstrument

Is biologisch voedsel beter dan gangbaar? Hoe hard zijn de bewijzen daarvoor? En hoe sterk moet het bewijs zijn voordat je het als claim op een product mag zetten? In dit Biokennis bericht een overzicht van de wetenschappelijke conclusies en de mogelijkheden om biologisch te promoten als beter, neergezet tijdens een werkbijeenkomst over gezondheid en voeding op 27 maart 2008

Voedselkwaliteit, veiligheid en gezondheid van biologische producten : update van de literatuur

In het kader van het project duurzaamheidprestaties (BO-04-001-039) is een overzicht gemaakt van de recente literatuur op het gebied van voedselkwaliteit, voedselveiligheid en gezondheid van biologische producten. Recente literatuur is gezocht in peer-reviewed tijdschriften via verschillende literatuurzoeksystemen. Daarnaast is gebruik gemaakt van een aantal recente rapporten, de proceedings van het 2nd scientific conference of Isofar in Modena en het recent verschenen “Handbook of organic food safety and quality”. Op basis van deze literatuur zijn conclusies getrokken over kwaliteit, veiligheid en gezondheidsaspecten van biologische producten. Bij elke conclusie is een robuustheidscore gegeven

Low-density lipoprotein oxidation, antioxidants and risk of atherosclerosis

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in most industrialized countries. In the Netherlands, it is responsible for 40% of all deaths. Major risk factors for CVD are identified such as smoking, high cholesterol level and hypertension. Other important determinants of cardiovascular risk are nutrition, physical activity and body weight. However, these known risk factors cannot fully explain individual differences in cardiovascular risk. An intriguing hypothesis has been postulated in which the known beneficial effect of a diet high in flUit and vegetables is combined with the known harmful effect of high cholesterol levels or, more specifically, high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. This hypothesis describes a high level of LDL cholesterol as a promoting factor in atherosclerosis after LDL has been chemically altered by free radical compounds. The uptake of cholesterol in macrophages is increased and foam cells are formed. These foam cells can cluster just beneath the intima of the vessel wall which is the beginning of the fatty streak and of the atherogenic process. Antioxidants can playa role in protecting LDL from oxidation by scavenging free radicals. Several lines of evidence have indicated that oxidation occurs in vivo and that antioxidants may have a preventive effect. Epitopes of oxidized LDL are found in atherosclerotic lesions.Further, supplementation with vitamin E has been reported to decrease susceptibility of LDL to oxidation. Evidence for direct relations between susceptibility to oxidation and risk of cardiovascular diseases, however, is scarce. To investigate susceptibility of LDL to oxidation and the preventive role of antioxidants in relation to atherosclerosis, we performed the studies described in this thesis

Effect of organically and conventionally produced diets on jejunal gene expression in chickens

Using a nutrigenomics approach we studied the response of second-generation chickens at a transcriptional level to organically grown feed ingredients compared with conventionally grown feed ingredients. Both diets consisted of the same amounts of ingredients, the only difference was the production method. Gene expression was analysed in jejuni using whole genome chicken cDNA arrays. After analysis, forty-nine genes were found to be differentially regulated between chickens fed on the different diets, independent of their genetic background. Of these forty-nine genes, seven genes were involved in cholesterol biosynthesis. Genes involved in cholesterol biosynthesis were higher expressed in jejuni from organically fed birds. Other genes found to be regulated were involved in immunological processes, such as B-G protein (part of chicken major histocompatibility complex), chemokine ah221, and the immunoglobulin heavy chain. Using quantitative PCR the effect of genetic background on the differential expression of genes was studied. Differences in gene expression existed between animals fed different diets as well as between different chicken lines. This indicated that diet and genetic background influence the transcriptional response of the jejunum. This is the first time that significant differences in gene expression were shown between animals on diets with organically or conventionally produced ingredient

Antibioticaresistentie in de biologische varkenshouderij : komt MRSA ook voor bij biologische varkens en hun verzorgers?

This research confirms the expectation that within the organic pig farming the prevalence of MRSA is lower than in conventional pig farming. However, the problem of MRSA does exist in organic pig farming as well, and therefore it is also important in organic pig farming to pay attention to reducing the risk factors for the spread of MRSA

Effects of organically and conventionally produced feed on biomarkers of health in a chicken model

Consumers expect organic products to be healthier. However, limited research has been performed to study the effect of organic food on health. The present study aimed to identify biomarkers of health to enable future studies in human subjects. A feeding experiment was performed in two generations of three groups of chickens differing in immune responsiveness, which were fed identically composed feeds from either organic or conventional produce. The animals of the second generation were exposed to an immune challenge and sacrificed at 13 weeks of age. Feed and ingredients were analysed on macro- and micronutrients, i.e. vitamins, minerals, trace elements, heavy metals and microbes. The chickens were studied by general health and immune parameters, metabolomics, genomics and post-mortem evaluation. The organic and conventional feeds were comparable with respect to metabolisable energy. On average, the conventionally produced feeds had a 10 % higher protein content and some differences in micronutrients were observed. Although animals on both feeds were healthy, differences between the groups were found. The random control group of chickens fed conventional feed showed overall a higher weight gain during life span than the group on organic feed, although feed intake was mostly comparable. The animals on organic feed showed an enhanced immune reactivity, a stronger reaction to the immune challenge as well as a slightly stronger ‘catch-up growth’ after the challenge. Biomarkers for future research were identified in the parameters feed intake, body weight and growth rate, and in immunological, physiological and metabolic parameters, several of these differing most pronounced after the challeng

Contaminants and micro-organisms in organic and conventional food products

In the Netherlands we investigated animal and plant products on potentially hazardous contamination with heavy metals, mycotoxins, pesticide residues, patho-genic micro-organisms and nitrate. In most cases, the organically produced foods had equal or lower amounts of contaminants than conventionally pro-duced products. These results conflict with a common idea that organic farming theoretically increases food safety risks. For many contaminants organic food showed a large diversity in the amount of contamina-tion. Experience with organic farming, managing and manure use partly explain these differences. Understanding of these cultivation parameters can help in further improvement of organic cultivation practices

Via (diergezondheids-)management naar minimalisering van antibioticagebruik : resultaten van een experimentele fase met biologische varkensbedrijven

Experiences of organic pig farms with minimizing antibiotic use through strengthening the animal health management

Vitamines, mineralen en smaak : verschillen tussen biologische en gangbare winkelmelk

Melk van biologische en gangbare oorsprong laat verschillen in vetzuursamenstelling zien. Uit onderzoek in het buitenland zijn ook verschillen gevonden in vitaminehoeveelheden tussen melk van biologische of gangbare herkomst. Dit was aanleiding om ook in Nederlandse winkelmelk na te gaan of de vitamines een onderscheidend kenmerk vormen. Daarnaast is onderzocht of biologische en gangbare melk onderscheidend is ten aanzien van smaak

Autoantibodies against MDA-LDL in subjects with severe and minor atherosclerosis and healthy population controls

Autoantibodies against oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) have been reported to be associated with atherosclerosis. However, data are not consistent. We compared the titres of autoantibodies to malondialdehyde-modified LDL in three groups, a case group with angiographically documented severe coronary stenosis (> 80% stenosis in at least 1 vessel, n = 47), a hospital control group with minor stenosis on the coronary angiography (< 50% stenosis in all three major vessels, n = 47) and a healthy population control group with no history of coronary heart disease (n = 49). Age ranged from 26 to 68 years. Subjects were frequency-matched for gender distribution and storage time of the blood samples. No relevant differences in autoantibody titre between case and control groups were found. The mean autoantibody titres (± S.D.) were 1.44 ± 1.82, 1.46 ± 1.40 and 1.62 ± 1.95 for cases, hospital controls and population controls, respectively. No correlations were found between autoantibody titre and age, number of cigarettes smoked and LDL or total cholesterol. Autoantibody titres were correlated wit