New Year, Clean Start: Why It’s Worth Eating More Organic Food

Organic food is increasingly no longer considered a luxury product: its availability in retail channels is steadily expanding, while more and more people are choosing chemical-free, organic cultivation in their own home gardens. Over the past three years, the retail sales value of organic food has grown dynamically in Hungary, and good news for conscious consumers is that, in parallel,  the price gap between organic and non-organic food products has decreased.

According to an analysis of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (ÖMKi), retail sales of organic food have shown steady growth in Hungary across the product categories monitored by the market research company NielsenIQ (NIQ). In Europe, sales of organic products increased by 3% between 2022 and 2023, while in Hungary this growth reached 19% during the same period. However, to see the full picture, it should be noted that while average per-capita spending on organic products in Europe amounted to € 66 (approx. HUF 25,000) in 2023, in Hungary consumers spent only €9 (around HUF 3,600) per-capita on organic food. By 2024, this amount had risen to €10.

The good news is that whichever label the consumer chooses from the shelf, they will be choosing a product that is equally sustainable, environmentally friendly, and healthy.  In food produced under organic farming systems, the terms bio, eco, ecological, or organic are used interchangeably (in Hungarian). All of these terms indicate that the product has been produced, inspected, and certified according to the strict legal requirements of organic farming.

Organic farming is one of the most dynamically developing agricultural systems in the world, combining tradition, scientific research, and innovation. Its core principles – ecology, health, fairness, and care – simultaneously serve the health of the soil, plants, animals, and humans, in line with the widely used “One Health” approach in medicine. Put simply, organic farming is a sustainable agricultural system that prioritises local resources and natural processes during production, rather than external inputs and unnatural substances. In organic crop production, for example, farmers use agrotechnical and biological plant protection, mechanical weed control, organic fertilizers, and traditional genetic resources instead of chemical pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, and genetically modified organisms. Thanks to these gentle cultivation methods, food production also serves to preserve soil fertility and protect the environment and human health. For instance, organically produced foods contain significantly lower levels of pesticide residues.

In animal husbandry, organic farmers apply high animal welfare standards, such as providing barns, paddocks, and open areas appropriate to the animals’ needs, and prohibiting mutilation practices. Hormone treatments are not permitted, and antibiotics may only be used therapeutically in cases of bacterial infection, not as a routine preventive measure. Withdrawal periods following medical treatments are significantly longer than in conventional systems. The detailed requirements for organic farming are laid down in European Union and national legislation, which is unique among farming systems.

Organic food production has numerous positive environmental impacts due to its practices. These include improvements in soil quality through organic nutrient management, maintenance of biodiversity, elimination of chemical inputs, and reduced water pollution resulting from avoiding synthetic fertilizers. These same factors underpin the most important health benefit of organic food consumption: a lower intake of pesticide residues. Clinical studies have confirmed that eating organic food significantly reduces pesticide residue exposure in the human body, which is particularly important for pregnant women, children, and people suffering from health problems.

The organic or eco labeling of products is certified worldwide by the authority responsible for the food chain or accredited certification bodies. In Hungary, two certification bodies are currently accredited by the National Food Chain Safety Office (NÉBIH), with the accreditation of two additional organisations underway due to market expansion. Due to strict regulations and the certification process, frequently used terms such as chemical-free, natural, reform, artisanal, home-made, and even agroecological and regenerative product attributes cannot be considered equivalent to certified organic or eco labeling.

According to joint research conducted by ÖMKi and NielsenIQ based on traditional retail turnover data, organic baby food is the most popular organic product in Hungary. Data from hypermarkets, supermarkets, and discount stores (modern retail) show that organic vegetables and fruits rank second in terms of sales value.
Demand for organic baby food and beverages has increased year by year, as more and more parents consider natural and healthy nutrition essential from infancy. Between 2022 and 2024, the retail sales value of organic baby foods rose by more than one-third, from HUF 6.4 billion to HUF 8.6 billion. Supermarkets and drugstores remain the most important sales channels, while the role of online retail has grown dynamically (+53%). At the same time, consumers can purchase these products at the lowest prices in discount stores.

“Among organic vegetables, Hungarian consumers spend the most on mushrooms, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, and onions. Among organic fruits, lemons, bananas, oranges, apples, and mandarins are the most popular. The majority of fresh organic fruits and vegetables are sold in discount stores. Organic fruits are not only at the top of the list of organic products because they come from controlled, guaranteed sustainable production, but also because their peels are not treated with chemical post-harvest substances, such as fungicides. Their segregated packaging prevents them from being mixed with non-organic products. This is why the consumption of organic lemon and orange peels is increasingly popular,” said  Dr. Gyöngyi Györéné Kis, Research Project Leader at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, summarizing the most frequently purchased fruits and vegetables in Hungary.

Organic farming and organic food ensure not only high product quality, but also represent a farming system closely linked to environmental awareness. By purchasing domestically produced organic food, consumers support not only quality but also the strengthening of health-conscious and environmentally responsible consumption patterns, as well as the sustainable development of Hungarian agriculture.

Which products and processes can be labeled as organic/eco? How should organic/eco products be labelled/how can they be recognized? Answers to these questions are provided by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture: https://biokutatas.hu/a-biorol/

Gap-filling agri-economic research findings:  Trends in the retail sales of organic foods in Hungary between 2022 and 2024

The project is co-funded by the Government of Hungary and the European Union.