Organic Food and E
Nutritionist, Marion Nestle dispels common myths about organic foods.
Is organic food more liable to be infected with E. coli?
The answer is an emphatic no.
Because the organic standards, the standards that are set by the Department of Agriculture to allow foods to be labeled as certified organic require treatment of any manure that is put on fields.
The manure must be treated to a certain temperature to kill harmful organisms. It must be on the field for a certain amount of time before vegetables can be grown on it.
These rules do not apply to conventionally grown produce. Conventionally grown produce can put any kind of manure on the fields that it wants to.
So, in fact, the conventionally grown produce is more liable to be contaminated with e. coli than is organic. Both kinds could be contaminated, because these accidents happen.
