Laura Telford, executive director of Canadian Organic Growers, said in Toronto’s Globe and Mail today that companies that sell organic food make a conscious effort to avoid branding themselves as being safer than other products, but the industry doesn’t discourage the positive association, stating, .jpg)
"[Consumers] perceive that organic food is going to be safer. Whether that’s true or not is a whole other issue. We don’t make food safety claims."
No kidding. Katija and I wrote a paper about this in 2004.
Joseph Odumeru, food science professor at the University of Guelph, said although a reduction in pesticides can eliminate some health issues, the most common food safety problems have nothing to do with chemicals, adding,
"Whether you have an organic product or not, all products are susceptible to risks. Where you grow a product, it can become contaminated with bacteria like salmonella."
Canada’s organic industry has been growing from 15 to 20 per cent each year, growth that is being fuelled mainly by consumers who are becoming increasingly health-conscious.