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Practical Resources
Overall food safety
- Food handling on the farm
- OrganicBiz. 2018
- Food Safety and Quality as Affected by Organic Farming
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2000
- Food Safety in Organic Poultry Webinar
- eOrganic. 2014
- Good Sense Food Safety Practices for Organic Diversified Vegetable Farms Recorded Webinar
- eOrganic. 2016
Pesticide exposure
- The Effectiveness of Farm and Private Sector Initiatives to Reduce Children's Pesticide Exposure [PDF - 186 kB]
- The Organic Center. 2006
- Impacts of the Food Quality Production Act on Children's Exposured to Pesticides [PDF - 256 kB]
- The Organic Center. 2006
- Minimizing Pesticide Dietary Exposure Through the Consumption of Organic Food [PDF - 714 kB]
- The Organic Center. 2004
- Opportunities to Reduce Children's Exposure to Pesticides: A Truly Grand Challenge [PDF - 221 kB]
- The Organic Center. 2006
- The Organic Center. 2006
- The Organic Center's "Dietary Risk Index" - Tracking Relative Pesticide Risks in Foods and Beverages [PDF - 1.0 MB]
- The Organic Center. 2011
- Pesticides: Making the Right Choice for the Protection of Health and the Environment
- Report of the Canadian Standing Committee on Environmen. 2000
- Pesticides in produce: why seasonal, organic matters
- Sound Consumer. 2012
- Startling differences in produce pesticide residue levels
- Canada Organic Trade Association. 2011
- Simplifying the Pesticide Risk Equation: The Organic Option [PDF - 13.6 MB]
- The Organic Center. 2008
- Systematic Review of Pesticide Health Effects [PDF - 998 kB]
- Ontario College of Family Physicians. 2012
- Ontario College of Family Physicians. 2012
Food-borne pathogens
- Organic Food and Farming as a Tool to Combat Antibiotic Resistance and Protect Public Health [PDF - 1 MB]
- The Organic Center (USA). 2016
- Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) – A problem not specific to sustainable agriculture [PDF - 127 kB]
- FiBL. 2011
- Improving the Safety and Quality of Organic Leafy Greens Recorded Webinar
- Unfinished Business: Preventing E. coli O157 Outbreaks in Leafy Greens [PDF - 879 kB]
- The Organic Center. 2007
Scientific Results
Overall food safety
- Allergenic Potential of Tomatoes Cultivated in Organic and Conventional Systems
- Plant Foods for Human Nutrition (2016) 71: 35-41
- Antimicrobial activity of organic honeys against food pathogenic bacterium Clostridium perfringens
- Organic Agriculture (2015) 5: 153-159
- Communicating imperceptible product attributes through traceability: A case study in an organic food supply chain
- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2010) 25: 263-271
- Food Safety in Free-Range and Organic Livestock Systems: Risk Management and Responsibility
- Journal of Food Protection (2009) 72: 12: 2629-2637
- Nutritional quality and safety of organic food. A review
- Agronomy for Sustainable Development (2010) 30: 33-41
- Organic supply chain collaboration: a case study in eight EU countries
- Journal of Food Products Marketing (2011) 17: 141-162
- Putting the safety of organic food into perspective
- Nutrition Research Reviews (2003) 16: 211-222
Pesticide exposure
- Effect of Organic Diet Intervention on Pesticide Exposures in Young Children Living in Low-Income Urban and Agricultural Communities
- Environmental Health Perspectives (2015) 123:1086–1093
- Estimating Pesticide Exposure from Dietary Intake and Organic Food Choices: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
- Environmental Health Perspectives (2015)
- Organic diets significantly lower children's dietary exposure to organophosphorus pesticides
- Environmental Health Perspectives (2006) 114: 260-263
- Perspective on Dietary Risk Assessment of Pesticide Residues in Organic Food
- Sustainability (2014) 6: 3552-3570
- Pesticide Residues in Imported, Organic, and “Suspect” Fruits and Vegetables
- Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2012) 60: 4425-4429
- Reduction in urinary organophosphate pesticide metabolites in adults after a week-long organic diet
- Environmental Research (2014) 132: 105-111
Food-borne pathogens
- Comparing the Microbiological Status of Pre- and Postharvest Produce from Small Organic Production
- Journal of Food Protection (2015) 6: 1072-1080
- Comparison of microbial diversity of edible flowers and basil grown with organic versus conventional methods
- Canadian Journal of Microbiology (2010) 56: 943-951
- Effects of weed management practices on enteric pathogen transfer into lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. capitata)
- Food Control (2010) 21: 1004-1010
- Free-range and organic farming: Eggshell contamination by mesophilic bacteria and unusual pathogens
- The Journal of Applied Poultry Research (2017) 26:509-517
- Foodborne Disease Outbreaks Associated with Organic Foods in the United States
- Journal of Food Protection (2016) 11: 1953-1958
Note: these results are from the U.S. and do not necessarily reflect Canadian data. The paper is not limited to “certified organic” products, but includes all events where the word “organic” has been included in reports or press releases, etc. The study also recognizes that incidences of foodborne illness are increasing also in non-organic products. In Canada, all organic producers and processors must follow the same food safety and handling guidelines as their non-organic counterparts, in addition to meeting the Canadian organic standard. Nevertheless, in the organic sector we must remain vigilant in maintaining the highest food safety standards and continuously work toward improving practices to minimize risk.
- Journal of Food Protection (2016) 11: 1953-1958
- The Growing Season, but Not the Farming System, Is a Food Safety Risk Determinant for Leafy Greens in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2015) 81: 2395-2407
- Hygienic quality of head lettuce: Effects of organic and mineral fertilizers
- Food Control (2009) 20: 881-886
- Identifying Ingredients That Delay Outgrowth of Listeria monocytogenes in Natural, Organic, and Clean-Label Ready-to-Eat Meat and Poultry Products
- Journal of Food Protection (2013) 76: 1366-1376
- Occurrence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Enterococci Isolated from Organic and Conventional Retail Chicken
- Journal of Food Protection (2015) 78: 760-766
- Organic and conventional fruits and vegetables contain equivalent counts of Gram-negative bacteria expressing resistance to antibacterial agents
- Environmental Microbiology (2010) 12: 608-615
- Organic vs conventional farming: Differences in infection by mycotoxin-producing fungi on maize and wheat in Northern and Central Italy
- Crop Protection (2015) 72: 22-30
- Preharvest Evaluation of Coliforms, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Organic and Conventional Produce Grown by Minnesota Farmers
- Journal of Food Protection (2004) 67: 894-900
- Prevalence and distribution of Salmonella in organic and conventional broiler poultry farms
- Foodborne Pathogens and Disease (2010) 7: 1363-1371
- Prevalence of Helicobacter pullorum in Conventional, Organic, and Free-Range Broilers and Typing of Isolates
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2011) 77: 479-484
- Prevalence of methicillin resistance in coagulase-negative staphylococci and Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bulk milk on organic and conventional dairy farms in the United States
- Journal of Dairy Science (2014) 97: 2959-2964
- Reduced likelihood of bovine coronavirus and bovine respiratory syncytial virus infection on organic compared to conventional dairy farms
- The Veterinary Journal (2009) 182: 436-440
- Strategies to improve performance and reduce preslaughter Salmonella in organic broilers
- Journal of Applied Poultry Research (2011) 20: 313-321
- Use of Organic Acids to Inactivate Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes on Organic Fresh Apples and Lettuce
- Journal of Food Science (2011) 76 : M293-298
Antibiotics
- Lower Prevalence of Antibiotic-resistant Enterococci On U.S. Conventional Poultry Farms That Transitioned to Organic Practices
- Environmental Health Perspectives (2011) 119: 1622-1628