Organic milk does contain more Omega-3 than conventional milk but is not necessarily healthier because it contains an ­inferior type of the essential fatty acid, said the Food Standards Agency.

The announcement came after a group of experts submitted a scientific paper to the FSA, which they said demonstrated that organic milk contained higher levels of Omega-3 than standard milk.

They asked the FSA to review the research in the hope it would in future advise consumers of the difference in composition of the two types of milk.

But in a statement the FSA said that although it believed that organic milk did contain more short-chain Omega-3 than conventional, "the evidence suggests that short-chain fatty acids appear to be of limited health benefit compared with the longer chain Omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish".

It added: "Short-chain fatty acids can be converted to these long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids.

"However the conversion rate of the short-chain fatty acids to the longer-chain fatty acids appears to be very limited.Therefore, organic milk would not provide sufficient amounts of long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids to provide significant health benefits over and above those associated with conventional milk."

Rosie Palmer, marketing manager at the Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative, which had backed the scientists, said the co-operative was pleased the FSA had recognised that there was more Omega-3 in organic milk, but suggested the FSA may have got it wrong about conversion.

"There is research showing that short-chain fatty acids are converted to long-chain fatty acids, but more work is needed in this area. We are looking at the option of doing further research along those lines."

Soil Association policy director Peter Melchett said that the FSA's acceptance of a difference in composition between organic and conventional milk was "a huge shift" in the agency's stance on organics.

Organic milk producers' sales have soared in the past few years, largely as a consequence of the widespread positive PR that has surrounded the Omega-3 content of organic milk.

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