Eat your greens

The small outlet has been selling organic produce for 27 years and stocks an astonishing array of goods. On offer this week are 35 different varieties of organic fruit and veg: everything from kohlrabi and red peppers to fennel and peaches.

Alligator is beating the big boys, the supermarket giants, in the breadth of organic fresh produce it stocks, but how long will it be before the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury are snapping at its heels?

'Organic' is the buzz word in the food retail sector, with consumers and supermarkets apparently unable to get enough of the stuff.

Organic food will be back in the media spotlight over the next few days as Friends of the Earth launch Real Food Week, aimed at raising awareness on issues such as GM crops and the use of chemicals in farming.

This comes hot on the heels of news that frozen food chain Iceland is buying up 40 per cent of the world's organic vegetable crop to meet the growing demand.

Moreover, Iceland has pledged the consumer will not have to pay more for organic products, which are usually more expensive.

An Evening Press survey of organic prices at five leading supermarkets in York this week found not only that organic produce costs more, but that it costs more depending where you shop.

We found that at M&S, organic vanilla ice cream is £3.49 - at least 50p more than the non-organic variety. At Safeway ordinary semi-skimmed milk is 26p a pint, yet an organic half a litre is 39p and at Asda organic broccoli costs 75p for 375g, but non-organic costs 57p for 500g.

Whereas 250g of organic butter at Sainsbury's costs 99p, it would set you back £1.29 at M&S. A kilo of organic carrots at Asda cost 98p but £1.36 at Safeway.

At Alligator, where prices often beat those at supermarkets - a kilo of carrots is 95p - there are mixed feelings about the supermarkets' new-found love affair with organics. Arthur Rutherford, a partner in Alligator, said: "My attitude is very ambivalent. You do this because you want people to eat proper food, not because you want to corner the market and be the only supplier. Having said that, it's my living.

"The supermarkets tend to take the lucrative bits. However, it does mean that organic stuff is available to more people, who perhaps would not come into a place like this."

Arthur has no doubt what's prompted the huge rise in demand for organic food: fear.

"People are very scared of food these days. Since salmonella and BSE, people are pretty scared. Sales of something like soya milk have risen hugely in a period of about two years because people were afraid to drink milk.

"There is also quite a market for organic meat - we don't deal with that - so, it's not just a thing for vegetarians."

Organic food accounts for one per cent of all food sales, but there's no doubt that its popularity is growing. It is predicted that shoppers will spend £546 million this year on organic food - up from £390 million last year.

In fact, demand is growing so fast that supply is having trouble keeping up.

Seventy per cent of organic products sold in the UK have to be imported. The Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food calculates that only three per cent of Britain's agricultural land is under organic management. That's just above the EU average of 2.2 per cent but far behind the example of Sweden with 11.2 per cent.

The Soil Association, an organic food and farming campaign group, is one of more than 100 organisations, including retailers such as Sainsbury's, urging the government to back a Lib-Dem Private Member's Bill - the Organic Food and Farming Targets Bill - to boost organic production.

This aims to have 30 per cent of UK farmland to be organic or in conversion by 2010 and 20 per cent of food consumed to be organic by the same date.

The Soil Association also wants the government to provide more cash to farmers to help meet the cost of converting to organic management. It can take up to three years to rid land of chemical traces in preparation for organic farming. The government runs a subsidy scheme to help farmers, but this has been over-subscribed and there is no more money available until spring next year.

Just this week, Castle Howard announced it was converting several acres of its estate to organic management.

With so much interest in organic food, the supermarket giants realised that when it comes to food, where there's muck, there's brass. The leading stores have all launched organic ranges in recent years, with Sainsbury's holding the number one spot. It boasts 650 organic foods to choose from, racking up sales of £3 million a week - a 125-fold increase over the past five years.

The Soil Association welcomes the widening of the market but is concerned that farmers and producers are not 'squeezed' to boost supermarket profits.

Sainsbury's predicts that the market will continue to grow and prices will fall, but not at the expense of the farmer.

"Prices are something we've been very keen on, but we want to be realistic," says Laura Ampomah of Sainsbury's. "One way of doing it is having the greater economies of scale we can get from larger suppliers. Anchor butter now has an organic range, as does Baxter's soups and Heinz has organic spaghetti. As these suppliers come on board we are going to see prices coming down."

Another concern is the effect expanding organic ranges at supermarkets might have on small shops such as Alligator. But the staff at the Fishergate shop are confident they can survive in any David and Goliath battle.

Buying locally where possible, combined with unpackaged fruit and veg, enables Alligator to sell its organic produce at keen prices. "We also offer a service that the supermarkets can't," says Arthur. "People come her because they like little shops."

THE ORGANIC WAY

u Organic farming avoids the used of artificial chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

u Animals are reared without the routine use of drugs, antibiotics and wormers used in most conventional livestock farming.

u Some studies show organic food has more vitamins and trace elements.

u Organic is a term defined by law and all organic food production and processing is governed by a strict set of rules.

u You can buy organic food at the supermarket, at specialist shops, markets, farms or through box schemes.

For more information about organic foods and a directory of local suppliers, contact The Soil Association, Bristol House, 40-56 Victoria Street, Bristol BS1 6BY. Telephone 0117 929 0661. Website: www.soilassociation.org

TRIED AND TESTED

ONE of the big debates about organic food is whether it tastes as good as its conventional rivals, which often cost much less. To put this to the test, we called on our team of tasters to sample organic milk chocolate.

Here are their findings:

Lessiters Swiss Organic Milk Chocolate, £1.29 for 100g, from Alligator, Fishergate, York:

Generally thought to be creamy, velvety and milky and was compared to Galaxy rather than Dairy Milk. Two people commented it had a muesli-like taste. One commented it had a nasty aftertaste. Several people found it too bland.

Total rating: 37/70

Rapunzel Pure Organic Swiss Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts, £1.49 for 85g, from Alligator, Fishergate, York:

By far the most popular. People liked the nuts, but also found the chocolate to be nicer than number (1). One tester thought it had a bitter aftertaste, another said it tasted of coffee. One described it as a 'poor man's Picnic bar'. Another comment was it tasted more of nuts than chocolate.

Total rating: 45/70

Asda Organic Milk Chocolate, 100g for 99p, Monks Cross, York:

Bland was the overriding verdict on this bar. It was described as milky, although several testers found it too sweet and sickly. One found it had an 'unpleasant aftertaste: a bit cloying'.

Total rating: 31/70

Green & Black's Fairtrade Organic Milk Chocolate, 100g for £1.35, at Sainsbury's and Tesco

Opinion was sharply divided on this one. It won praise from one camp for its strong, chocolatey taste and was compared to continental chocolate. However, several people disliked it, saying it had a bitter after taste. Two people commented that it tasted 'off' or 'past its sell-by date'. Burnt and bitter were other comments.

Total rating: 35/70