Organic food consumption has steadily increased over the past decade in westernized countries. The aim of this study, based on observational data, was to compare some sustainability features of diets from consumers with varying levels of organic food. The diet sustainability among 29,210 participants of the NutriNet-Santé study was estimated using databases developed within the BioNutriNet project. Four dimensions (nutrition, environment, economy, and toxicology) of diet sustainability were assessed using: 1) nutritional indicators through dietary intakes and dietary scores, and BMI; 2) environmental indicators (greenhouse gas emissions, cumulative energy demand, and land occupation); 3) economic indicators via diet monetary costs; and 4) estimated daily food exposures to 15 pesticides. Adjusted means (95% CI) across weighted quintiles of organic food consumption in the diet were estimated via ANCOVA. Breakdown methods were used to disentangle the contribution of the production system (organic compared with conventional) from the dietary pattern in the variation of diet-related environmental impacts, monetary costs, and pesticide exposure, between the 2 extreme quintiles. Higher organic food consumption was associated with higher plant-food and lower animal-food consumption, overall nutritional quality (higher dietary scores), and lower BMI. Diet-related greenhouse-gas emissions, cumulative energy demand, and land occupation gradually decreased with increasing organic food consumption, whereas total diet monetary cost increased. Diet exposure to most pesticides decreased across quintiles. Diets of high organic food consumers were generally characterized by strong nutritional and environmental benefits. The latter were mostly driven by the low consumption of animal-based foods, whereas the production system was responsible for the higher diet monetary costs, and the overall reduced dietary pesticide exposure.

Some pesticides, used in large quantities in current agricultural practices all over Europe, are suspected of adverse effects on human reproductive health (breast and prostate cancers), through mechanisms of endocrine disruption and possible carcinogenic properties, as observed in agricultural settings. However, evidence on dietary pesticide exposure and breast cancer (BC) is lacking for the general population. We aimed to assess the associations between dietary exposure to pesticides and BC risk among postmenopausal women of the NutriNet-Santé cohort. In 2014, participants completed a self-administered semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire distinguishing conventional and organic foods. Exposures to 25 active substances used in EU plant-protection products were estimated using a pesticide-residue database accounting for farming practices, from Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt Stuttgart, Germany. Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), adapted for data with excess zeros, was used to establish exposure profiles. The four extracted NMF components’ quintiles were introduced into Cox models estimating hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI), adjusted for known confounding factors. A total of 13 149 postmenopausal women were included in the analysis (169 BC cases, median follow-up = 4.83 years). Negative associations between Component 3, reflecting low exposure to synthetic pesticides, and postmenopausal BC risk were found [HR_Q5 = 0.57; 95% CI (0.34; 0.93), p-trend = 0.006]. Positive association between Component 1 score (highly correlated to chlorpyrifos, imazalil, malathion, thiabendazole) and postmenopausal BC risk was found specifically among overweight and obese women [HR_Q5 = 4.13; 95% CI (1.50; 11.44), p-trend = 0.006]. No associations were detected for the other components. These associations suggest a potential role of dietary pesticide exposure on BC risk. Further research is needed to investigate the mechanisms and confirm these results in other populations.

Few studies have investigated the relationships between organic food consumption, dietary patterns, monetary diet cost, health, and the environment. To address these issues, a consortium of French epidemiologists, nutritionists, economists, and toxicologists launched the BioNutriNet project in 2013. In 2014, an FFQ documented the usual organic and nonorganic (conventional) food consumption of approximately 35,000 NutriNet-Santé participants. Then, individual organic and conventional food intakes were merged with price, environmental, and pesticide residue data sets, which distinguished between conventional and organic farming methods. Many studies were conducted to characterize organic consumers and their environmental impacts (i.e., greenhouse gas emissions, energy demand, and land use) and organic food consumption impacts on health. We observed that organic consumers had diets that were healthier and richer in plant-based food than nonorganic consumers. Their diets were associated with higher monetary costs, lower environmental impacts, and reduced exposure to certain pesticide residues. Regular consumption of organic food was associated with reduced risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, postmenopausal breast cancer, and lymphoma. Although several observations have been confirmed by several studies conducted in other countries, our results should be replicated in other cultural settings and coupled with experimental studies to be able to draw causal conclusions. Finally, the main finding of the BioNutriNet project is that while organic food consumption could be associated with positive externalities on human health and the environment, organic-based diets should be accompanied by dietary shifts toward plant-based diets to allow for better planetary and human health.

Background: Studies focusing on dietary pesticides in population-based samples are scarce and little is known about potential mixture effects. We aimed to assess associations between dietary pesticide exposure profiles and Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) among NutriNet-Santé cohort participants. Methods: Participants completed a Food Frequency Questionnaire at baseline, assessing conventional and organic food consumption. Exposures to 25 active substances used in European Union pesticides were estimated using the Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt Stuttgart residue database accounting for farming practices. T2D were identified through several sources. Exposure profiles were established using Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (NMF), adapted for sparse data. Cox models adjusted for known confounders were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI), for the associations between four NMF components, divided into quintiles (Q) and T2D risk. Results: The sample comprised 33,013 participants aged 53 years old on average, including 76% of women. During follow-up (median: 5.95 years), 340 incident T2D cases were diagnosed. Positive associations were detected between NMF component 1 (reflecting highest exposure to several synthetic pesticides) and T2D risk on the whole sample: HR_Q5vsQ1 = 1.47, 95% CI (1.00, 2.18). NMF Component 3 (reflecting low exposure to several synthetic pesticides) was associated with a decrease in T2D risk, among those with high dietary quality only (high adherence to French dietary guidelines, including high plant foods consumption): HR_Q5vsQ1 = 0.31, 95% CI (0.10, 0.94). Conclusions: These findings suggest a role of dietary pesticide exposure in T2D risk, with different effects depending on which types of pesticide mixture participants are exposed to. These associations need to be confirmed in other types of studies and settings, and could have important implications for developing prevention strategies (regulation, dietary guidelines). Trial Registration: This study is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03335644).

Pesticides cause a wide range of deleterious health effects, including metabolic disorders. Little is known about the effects of dietary pesticide exposure on body weight (BW) change in the general population. We aimed to investigate the role of dietary pesticide exposure in BW change among NutriNet-Santé participants, focusing on potential sexual dimorphism. Participants completed a Food Frequency Questionnaire (2014), assessing conventional and organic food consumption. Dietary exposure from plant foods of 25 commonly used pesticides was estimated using a residue database, accounting for agricultural practices (conventional and organic). Exposure profiles based on dietary patterns were computed using Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF). Mixed models were used to estimate the associations between BW change and exposure to pesticide mixtures, overall and after stratification by sex and menopausal status. The final sample included 32,062 participants (8,211 men, 10,637 premenopausal, and 13,214 postmenopausal women). The median (IQR) follow-up was 7.0 (4.4; 8.0) years. Four pesticides profiles were inferred. Overall, men and postmenopausal women lost BW during follow-up, whereas premenopausal women gained BW. Higher exposure to NMF3, reflecting a lower exposure to synthetic pesticides, was associated with a lower BW gain, especially in premenopausal women (β(95 %CI) = -0.04 (-0.07; 0) kg/year, p = 0.04). Higher exposure to NMF2, highly positively correlated with a mixture of synthetic pesticides (azoxystrobin, boscalid, chlorpropham, cyprodinil, difenoconazole, fenhexamid, iprodione, tebuconazole, and lamda-cyhalothrin), was associated with a higher BW loss in men (β(95 %CI) = -0.05 (-0.08; -0.03) kg/year, p < 0.0001). No associations were observed for NMF1 and 4. This study suggests a role of pesticide exposure, inferred from dietary patterns, on BW change, with sexually dimorphic actions, including a potential role of a lower exposure to synthetic pesticides on BW change in women. In men, exposure to a specific pesticide mixture was associated with higher BW loss. The underlying mechanisms need further elucidation.

Organic food processors are guided by the European Council (EC) legislation for developing their products. However, the choice of processing technology remains relatively large. To help processors choosing a technology in line with organic principles, the partners involved in the European project ProOrg have designed an assessment framework which has been tested in real conditions on the processing of organic apples in purees at a pilot scale. The assessment concerned the addition of a grinding step before heating. The effect of grinding was then evaluated on environmental, nutritional and sensory criteria. Sixteen indicators were selected to assess these three aspects and rated on a 5-points scale from much worse to much better. Nine of them obtained a higher score with the grinding step added, meaning that the quality was better. The overall score of the puree with grinding was higher than the reference (without grinding) for the three performed trials. The assessment framework was successfully applied to this case study but some improvements were proposed in order to enhance its robustness and to facilitate its comprehension and application. The assessment framework should be an interesting tool for organic food processors.