The organic movement has taken another blow its the ongoing battle with the conventional food lobby.

A Which? report has revealed that consumers are buying organic lines in the belief they are better for them.

The study discovered that organic food costs an average 40 per cent more than like-for-like conventional product.

Most people said they bought organic to avoid pesticides – but then purchased processed lines were residues are less of an issue.

Green buying – protecting the environment – was another popular reason for buying organic cited by those questioned, but the study showed that this can have its own impacts on the natural world.

A spokesman for Which? said: 'Around 70 per cent of organic food is imported. This has its own impact in terms of transport, packaging, waste and pollution. Food processing also has environmental costs in terms of energy use and packaging.' However the article made it clear that there were advantages to buying organic. The report said there were fewer additives, no genetically modified ingredients and that the food was more traceable.

It did however state there were question marks over whether some products should be labelled as organic.

A spokesman said: 'At least 95 per cent of the agricultural ingredients must be organic, and the other 5 per cent can be made up of non-organic ingredients, such as approved herbs and spices.

'But non-agricultural ingredients such as water and salt approved for use in organic food are not included in these calculations. So a drink made of carbonated water, organic sugar and natural flavourings can be labelled organic although only the sugar is organic.'

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