What are the criteria for good food quality?

Natural Health Questions

By Archie Armada

I have discussed in one of my articles “what organic and natural mean.” Likewise, in the articles section of this site, you will find more articles that will provide you some tips and information as you pursue a sustainable healthy living. Below are some practical criteria for good food based on research conducted by various organizations…

Food quality is defined more broadly by the Soil Association in England. It adopted standards developed at the University of Kassel and the Elm Farm Research Centre, two European research institutes actively conducting organic farming systems research. Six criteria — Sensual, Authenticity, Functional, Nutritional, Biological, and Ethical — make up this new holistic approach.

6 Aspects of Food Quality:

Sensual: how good it feels to eat. Taste, smell, texture, look, feel; that wonderful blend of sensations when you bite into a freshly picked apple.

Authenticity: the food which consumers expect. Food which has not been synthesized or adulterated in production, processing or storage. Bread where the browness is real, not an added ingredient to white bread.

Functional: how appropriate food is to its specific purpose. For example, the way different varieties of potatoes are more or less suitable for boiling, baking, roasting or frying.
Nutritional: how it contributes to a balanced diet. Recognizing individual food’s value by the vitamins, protein or trace elements present.

Biological: how it interacts with the body’s functioning. Allergic reactions to additives, the effects of agri-chemical residues; beneficial role of live yoghurt on the gut flora, etc.

Ethical: environmental, social and political values. How food production treats animals, the environment, and the people producing the food.

With some exceptions, natural and organic foods tend to cost more than genetically modified and conventionally produced ones. So for those of us trying to eat well on a budget, natural organic food might not make so much sense after all.

If you are not yet committed to natural and/or organic food, I suggest you to watch this interesting video below. I thought this was a very cute and creative way to raise awareness.