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Pesticide contamination of organic oats
Dec. 1, 2008
Random samples of organic oat products taken between January and May 2008 were discovered to contain these pesticides at concentrations below the Maximum Residue Level permitted by the European Union.
Both pesticides are commonly used in non-organic production of oats, but organic oats should not contain detectable levels of these pesticides. Chlormequat is typically found in around half of the non-organic bread sold in the UK. Selling non-organic food containing pesticides at this level is legal under current food safety legislation. However this contamination of organic products at this level means they can no longer legally be described as organic.
The full extent of the contamination, the source of contamination, and the number of products affected beyond those identified by the Pesticides Safety Directorate earlier in the year is not yet known. The Soil Association is conducting urgent investigations and working closely with the companies it certifies to determine which organic oat products are affected. At this stage the Soil Association believes the likely source to be substitution of non-organic for organic oats at some point in the supply chain.
Soil Association policy director Peter Melchett said:
"Our first concern is to act in the public interest to discover the source and clarify the scale of contamination. As a result of this discovery, the Soil Association is increasing investment in random testing of the products it certifies as a supplement to the testing carried out by the Pesticides Safety Directorate and organic food businesses it licences. Once the source of the contamination is clear, the Soil Association will immediately implement further measures that better protect the integrity of organic food.”
“The Soil Association certified producers notified by the Pesticides Safety Directorate have taken steps to check oat-based products currently on sale. The advice of the Soil Association to those companies that currently have organic products on sale that have tested positive for pesticides is to withdraw them from sale to the public.”
The Soil Association will update its website with the results of the further testing and investigations it has undertaken, and with any product it knows to be affected, as soon as they are confirmed.
Source: Soil Assosiation UK
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