"Organic Trade Association Says Certified Organic Foods Meet Stringent Food Safety Requirements and Protect The Enviroment"
GreenField, Mass --(Business Wire)-- Feb 4, 2000
Tonight's broadcast by ABC's television program 20.20 incorrectly implied that organic produce is more likely to cause food-borne illness, the Organic Trade Association said. Consequently, the association wants to set the record straight to avoid further confusion.

Food safety is the number one concern for the produce industry, both organic and conventional. As a result, certified organic produce handlers take many precautions for safe handling of their products.

The show erroneously implied that only organic agriculture uses manure. The fact is conventional and organic agriculture both use manure as a part of regular farm soil fertilization programs. Certified organic farmers, however, must maintain a farm plan detailing the methods used to build soil fertility, including strict limitations on the application of manure, as mandated by the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. No other agriculture regulation in the United States imposes such strict control of the use of manure. Certifiers and scientists recommend the use of well-composted manure to reduce the incidence of E. coli.

All certified organic food must comply with federal, state, and municipal health and safety requirements, as well as with stringest organic industry growing and processing standards, the trade association pointed out. Neither the U.S. Food and Drug Administration nor the Centers for Disease Control has ever conducted a study that shows certified organic produce has a higher incidence of pathogenic E.coli than conventional produce.

Moreover, Dr Michael Doyle of the University of Georgia, the researcher who conducted the tests cited by 20/20 has said the produce was tested for a "generic" E.coli screen, and as such, "does not differentiate between pathogenic and non pathogenic E.coli."

E.coli is a very complicated subject and cannot be explained with a simple sound bite. E.coli lives in the intestines of most animals, including humans, and help digest food. Only specific types of E.coli are pathogens, defined as microorganisms capable of causing disease or injury.

Pasteurization, selected use of chlorine, and other methods of safe food handling are allowed and used in certified organic production. Millions of servings of certified organic produce are safely consumed each week in this country.

OTA has advocated adoption of national standards for organic agriculture since the late 1980's. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to unveil proposed regulations for organic standards within the next several months. Once such regulations go into effect, all products labeled organic will have to be certified.

"Certified organic food has been a safe choice in the marketplace for the last 20 years," said Katherine DiMatteo, OTA executive director. "Furtermore, organic agricultural production builds healthy soil and a healthy enviroment."

20/20's own consumer poll showed that consumers purchase organic products first and foremost because of benefits to the enviroment. Organic food production is an agricultural system that helps reduce enviromental damage. Consumers can be assured that producers of certified organic produce are taking the steps necessary to ensure the safety of the food they sell while also safeguarding the enviroment.

The 20/20 segment also claimed that organic farming produces low yields. The truth is, organic farming is not low-yield's farming. The Rodale Institute of Kutztown, Penn., recently completed a 15-year study comparing organic farming methods to conventional methods. Its findings, published in the Nov. 11,1998, issue of the Journal Nature, showed that organic yields equaled conventional yields after only four years. The study also found that in organic farming, the quality of the soil continues to improve; carbon dioxide emissions are reduced; and that in periods of drought, organic fields can actually out-yield conventional plots.

Experts have shown that using pesticides does not guarantee increased yields. According to David Pimentel, Professor of Insect Ecology and Agricultural Sciences at Cornell University,"Although pesticides are generally profitable, their use does not always decrease crop losses. For example, even with the 10-fold increase in insecticide use in the United States from 1945 to 1989, total crop losses from insect damage has nearly doubled from 7 percent to 13 percent."

No matter what type of fresh fruits and vegetable consumers prefer, there are steps consumers can take to reduce the risk of contracting food-borne illness, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Produce Marketing Association, and OTA have noted.
These Include:
Separating meats from fruits and vegetables in the shopping cart.
Choosing fruits and vegetables that look fresh and are not bruised, moldy, shriveled, or slimy.
Washing hands before preparing food and immediately after handling raw meat.
Keeping utensils and cutting boards seperate for meats and vegetables.
Washing all countertops and utensils thoroughly when handling food.
Washing all fruits and vegetables in cleaning drinking water before eating them.
Putting produce away promptly, and keeping all cut fruits and vegetables covered in the refrigerator.
Discarding produce you have kept too long. Throwing away cut produce that has been out of the refrigerator for four hours or more.

To read the fact sheets about the organic products and agriculture, E.coli and organic certification standards, visit the Organic Trade Association web site: www.ota.com or contact hgivens@ota.com

The organic Association is the business association representing the organic agriculture industry throughout North America. Its more than 1,000 members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers' associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers, and others. Founded in 1985 OTA encourages global sustainability by promoting and protecting the growth of diverse organic trade.