Tasty task for hungry scientists

Carrots are among the test crops being grown in Northumberland

Scientists are spending £12m looking at why our food tastes so bad.

Experts from Newcastle University are leading the project, which also examines how organic farming can solve the problem and boost the nutritional value of basic foods.

The project includes 31 partners from across Europe and is funded by the European Union.

Test crops of cabbages, lettuces, wheat and potatoes are being grown at a research centre in Northumberland.

They are being grown under a variety of conditions so that the research team can compare factors such as taste and nutritional quality between the vegetables grown organically and those grown using synthetic pesticides and fertilisers.

Organic farming

The Quality Low Input Food project (QLIF) aims to improve quality, safety and productivity along the European organic food chains.

The project will measure consumer attitudes and expectations, develop new technology to improve the quality of organic foods and will assess the social, environmental and economical impacts of growing crops organically.

Project leader, Professor Carlo Leifert of the Nafferton Ecological Farming Group at the University of Newcastle, said: "We need to find out what is behind reports which have proved that the taste and nutritional value of our foods is deteriorating.

"There are more and more indications that moving to natural production systems, such as organic farming, can improve food quality.

"This project will attempt to find out why this is the case, and how we can further improve on these production systems."

The first set of results from the project will be presented at a conference at Newcastle University in January 2005.