Re: It’s Organic, but Does That Mean It’s Safer?

March 5, 2009

The label " organic " was invented to assure customers that a product had no

unnatural substances (pesticides, hormones, additives). Something that has

always concerned me, specially about produce, has been sanitation. When I see

organic lettuce, I think " Was it fertilized with manure? " Why would anyone

worry about bird droppings if a cow is much bigger?

I suppose people have different triggers for the " yuck " factor. I normally buy

conventional produce and wash it well.

Tony

>

> March 4, 2009

> It's Organic, but Does That Mean It's Safer?

>

> By KIM SEVERSON and ANDREW MARTIN

>

> MOST of the chicken, fruit and vegetables in Ellen Devlin-Sample's

> kitchen are organic. She thinks those foods taste better than their

> conventional counterparts. And she hopes they are healthier for her

> children.

>

> Lately, though, she is not so sure.

>

> The national outbreak of salmonella in products with peanuts has been

> particularly unsettling for shoppers like her who think organic food

> is safer.

>

> The plants in Texas and Georgia that were sending out contaminated

> peanut butter and ground peanut products had something else besides

> rodent infestation, mold and bird droppings. They also had federal

> organic certification.

>

> " Why is organic peanut butter better than Jif? " said Ms. Devlin-

> Sample, a nurse practitioner from Pelham, N.Y. " I have no idea. If

> we're getting salmonella from peanut butter, all bets are off. "

>

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