Organic industry reaps new profits from ‘fear factor’ of food recalls

The Montreal Gazette today reports that product recalls are like a death knell for food firms, but for a niche segment of the food industry, recalls aren’t a thing to be feared – in fact, they are cause for celebration.
Maryellen Molyneaux, president of the Natural Marketing Institute, after speaking at the annual Institute of Food Technologists conference this week, was quoted as saying, "Food scares are always good for the organic industry. You can look at that historically."
Carly Weeks writes that organic food companies often reap the benefit when the traditional, mainstream market is hit with a scandal about tainted food or contaminated products. It’s a trend she says the organic industry likes to refer to as the "fear factor" – more consumers are turning to their products because they’re losing faith in what traditional grocers have to offer.
"Organic" refers to a method used to produce foods rather than to characteristics of the food itself. Thus, no distinctions should be made between organically and non-organically produced food products in terms of safety. Producers, yes, but production systems, no.