Keeping it real

Organic foods are on show at the Organic Day Carnival held in Hong Kong. [Photo by Wang Yuke/China Daily]

While the wider public is crazy about organics, some experts have their doubts.

Sylvia Lam, chairman of Hong Kong Dietitian Association, is dubious about organic food.

"At this moment, there is no evidence to show organic food is healthier than conventional food. Actually, they are more or less the same in terms of health values," Lam says. "I can't say it (popularizing organic food) is totally misleading or at fault 100 percent, but I can say there is an exaggeration of organic food's benefits."

Lam says there are few specialized or well-established organic food organizations in Hong Kong at present. A large proportion of organic food is imported from overseas, from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere that has an organic food-certificate system in place.

Lam cautions customers should take claims food is organic with a pinch of salt.

Yet Lam also gives organic food due credit.

"Organic food does taste better than its counterparts," she say. "Organic food takes more time to grow without artificial boosters that speed up the growth. For that reason, more flavors and nutrients are accumulated over the course of cultivation."