Does organic food carry greater risks of food poisoning?
A. Organic food must meet all of the safety and quality standards applied to non-organic foods. Critics of organic farming sometimes claim that because organic farmers use farmyard manure, there is a greater risk of pathogen contamination on organic crops. However, farmyard manure is also extensively used in non-organic farming, but with less strict controls than are applied to organic methods. It has also been claimed that because organic farms don’t routinely use antibiotics this allows bacteria (particularly E.coli) into the food chain. But research has shown that overuse of antibiotics may have resulted in resistant strains of E.coli in non-organic production. There is evidence to suggest that organic animals build up a natural resistance to these bacteria. This document is © Organic Farmers & Growers Ltd, 2004. It may be reproduced in whole or in part by licensees of Organic Farmers & Growers Ltd on condition that the source is acknowledged along with the text. For others uses, pl
