Organic Framing

Microbial Food Contaminants

Contamination from Natural Fertilizers

• Untreated or improperly treated manure or biosolids used as fertilizers or soil nutrient agents, whether in organic or non-organic agriculture, can lead to contamination of products and/or water resources.
• Animal and human faeces known to contain a range of human pathogens.
• Properly treated manure or biosolids are effective and safe fertilizers.
• Pathogenic organisms can survive upto 60 days under compost.

E. coli Contamination

• Virulent strains of E. coli develop in the digestive tract of cattle which is mainly fed with starchy grains.
• Cows mainly fed with hay generate less than one per cent of E. coli found in faeces of grain fed animals.
• Therefore, ruminants (cattle and sheep) are fed with diets with a high proportion of grass, silage and hay.
• Organic farming potentially reduces the risk of E. coli contamination.

Mycotoxins

• Mycotoxins are toxic by-products of certain moulds that can grow on certain food products under suitable conditions.
• Aflotoxins are the most toxic of these compounds and can cause liver cancer at low doses if ingested over a prolonged period of time.
• Organic farming may lead to increased risk of mycotoxic contamination since fungicides are not allowed in Organic Farming.
• Therefore, good agricultural, handling and storage practices are required in organic agriculture to minimise the risk of mould growth and mycotoxins contamination.