The rage in modern food circles popularizes the organic movement.  Go to the supermarket and among the plethora of choices you have ranging from “low-fat” to “low-MSG” and “free-range” is also the ever popular “organic.”

People pay up to 50% more for products with the organic label, and subsequently, they have high expectations.  Since the entire organic industry has been built on the notion that these fruits and vegetables are purer and better for humans, the buyers of the products expect a higher standard of safety for them, perhaps justifiably so.

However, one question remains.  Just because a product is labeled organic, does that mean it is safer?

The Peanut Butter Scare Was “Organic”

With the recent salmonella scare that arrived as a result of contaminated peanut butter products, the nation is becoming more skeptical about food safety – and organic products are not excluded.  In fact, the Georgia peanut plant where the entire salmonella imbroglio started was “organic certified.”

The Peanut Corporation of America, where the salmonella scare started, held onto its organic certification until it was in the middle of a massive food recall on its products. Some of the products recalled were certified organic. This is troubling for loyal organic product buyers because they believed the food choices they were making were better for them than others.

The organic inspection of the products at the Peanut Corporation of America should have been more thorough than the other ones, according to organic buyers. But, apparently, the only aspect the inspectors were reviewing was pesticide use and crop management techniques.  Organic loyalists believe this is not enough.

Being Organic is No Longer Enough

Unsurprisingly, experts assert organic food is not necessarily “safer” than other foods. While the organic label suggests a healthier and more beneficial option, it does not exclude the potential for contamination.
People are starting to question the entire notion of organic certification.  Subsequently, more people are simply buying their produce at the local level from farmers whom they know treat their animals properly and with dignity and treat their crops with care and without pesticides – factors organic labels cannot guarantee.