The BfR MEAL study Germany analysed 356 food products and found similar phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) levels between Organic and non-Organic (conventional) products. Significant differences showed for olives: lower Ca, maybe due to calcium chloride additive used in non-Organic, higher K, maybe in sea salt used for Organic olives and higher P, attributed by the authors (surprisingly) to higher fertiliser use for Organic olives. Higher phosphorus was also found in certain categories of Organic cereal products, suggested to be because of inclusion of seeds and not only cereals in the Organic products (ESPP note: this would be expected because of phytate content of seeds, but the P in phytate is only partly assimilable by humans). P, K and Ca levels were also similar for foods purchased in different regions of Germany and at different times of the year. The authors conclude that dietary differences in mineral intake would therefore result principally from choice of different categories of food.

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Source: ESPP