Putting the safety of organic food into perspective

Abstract

The demand for organic foods is constantly increasing mainly due to consumers' perception that they are healthier and safer than conventional foods. There is a need for information related to food safety to inform consumers of the health benefits and/or hazards of food products of both origins, in order to optimise the impact on health and minimise the risks. Several gaps and limitations in scientific knowledge with regard to food risk evaluation make it difficult to draw generalised conclusions. Still, some organic foods can be expected to contain fewer agrochemical residues and lower levels of nitrate than conventionally grown alternatives. On the other hand, environmental contaminants are equally present in foods of both origins. With regard to other food hazards, such as natural chemicals, microbial pathogens and mycotoxins, no clear conclusions can be drawn, although several interesting points can be highlighted. It is difficult, therefore, to weigh the risks, but what should be made clear to consumers is that 'organic' does not equal 'safe'. If producers adopt proper agricultural practices and consumers maintain hygienic conditions, risks associated with food contaminants can be minimised, regardless of the food's organic or conventional origin.

Organic Food: Buying More Safety or Just Peace of Mind? A Critical Review of the Literature

“…Although there have been several attempts in the literature to review the existing evidence regarding the quality of organically and conventionally grown food, all have dealt with comparisons of nutritional value, providing none or only isolated results regarding safety characteristics of the produce (Jukes, 1977;Bourn, 1994;Lecerf, 1995;Woese et al, 1997;Worthington, 1998;Heaton, 2001;Worthington, 2001;Bourn and Prescott, 2002;Williams, 2002;Magkos et al, 2003a). The present article extends and updates our previous work (Magkos et al, 2003b). As such, it does not aim at making a judgment about the best approach to agricultural development, nor does it intend to compare the environmental impact and sustainability of the two farming systems.…”

“…cultivar, soil type, planting and harvest dates, nitrate in irrigation water and groundwater, geographical location, climate, storage conditions and post-harvest processing, plant disease, etc.) (Magkos et al, 2003b). For example, a recent study reported higher nitrate content in conventional than in organic tomatoes (19 vs. 1 mg/kg, respectively; P < 0.05) and spinach (1,591 vs. 1,135 mg/kg, respectively; not significant), but non-significantly higher levels in organic than in conventional carrots (394 vs. 113 mg/kg, respectively) and lettuce (1,221 vs. 804.5 mg/kg, respectively) .…”

Consumer Purchase Intentions towards Organic Food: Insights from South Africa

“…Source: Magkos et al (2003) Availability and convenience (The effort dimension) As organic food development is predominantly demand-led, this implies that consumers may confront or have to deal with availability issues, and most often there are inadequate choices of organic foods (Latacz-Lohmann & Foster, 1997). According to Saunders (1999) the main purchasing criteria affecting organically grown food is availability, and if consumers have to spend extra time and effort locating organically produced food, their purchase intentions will be negatively affected (Thompson, 2000).…”

Assessing the ecological soundness of organic and conventional agriculture by means of life cycle assessment (LCA)

“…Growing consumer concerns about the quality and safety of foods due to the presence of these harmful contaminants are considered to be one of the major motives for the increased demand for organic foods (Magkos et al, 2003a). The popularity of organic foods is reflected in the growth of the organic foods market in Belgium and other European countries (Abando and Rohner-Thielen, 2007;Samborski et al, 2007).…”