Does organic food pose more of a health risk than GM-sourced foods (mycotoxins etc)?
This is a complex question. The presence of mycotoxins is usually dependent upon the growth of fungi on the crop, but the removal of the fungi by killing it does not necessarily remove the toxin. This applies equally to bacterial and other toxic products. Essentially the toxin is produced as the organism grows and is either excreted or remains in the organism. If the organism is killed, the internal toxin is released. So in both cases the killing or removal of the organism may not remove the toxin, it simply stops further production. Both farming systems aim to have crops free of pests and other detrimental organisms. Therefore in both cases the aim would be to minimise contamination. Which succeeds the best, would need to be a matter for research and comparison. Organic farmers may remove infected crop material before it is sold (not guaranteed 100% successful) and others may treat crops as soon as infection appears (also not guaranteed 100% successful). Thus neither should at present
