Consumers need to know that there are risks associated with eating organic products. Researchers from Wageningen UR (University and Research Centre) write this in an article in the December issue of Journal of Food Protection .
The aspect of the food safety risks in the organic sector is still often underexposed. It is almost never reported that due to the open nature of organic livestock farming, animals are easily susceptible to pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and parasites can increase.
The Wageningen researchers say that the lack of openness could damage the public's confidence in the organic sector in the future. They find it a bad thing that food safety risks remain underexposed in communication.
The pathogens that can infect animals from organic livestock farms can also enter the food chain † Examples include infections with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii in pork and higher dioxin levels in organic eggs.
