Organic Food Recalls are Increasing, Report Shows

A new report indicates that recalls of organic food products are on the rise. Stericycle, a company that manages recalls for businesses, released its quarterly reports using data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Agriculture. According to the New York Times, Stericycle’s report shows that organic food recalls accounted for 7 percent of recalls this year compared to 2 percent last year. Organic food recalls only accounted for 1 percent in 2012 and 2013.

Kevin Pollack, a vice president at Stericycle, said the rise is at least partly attributed to a growing demand for organic foods. “What’s striking is that since 2012, all organic recalls have been driven by bacterial contamination, like salmonella, listeria and hepatitis A, rather than a problem with a label,” said Mr. Pollack, according to NYT. “This is a fairly serious and really important issue because a lot of consumers just aren’t aware of it.” On the whole, food recalls due to bacteria contamination have gone up this year.

The Organic Trade Association took issue with the report and pointed to its own quick analysis showing that organic food products only made up 4.9 percent of recalls, proportional to the percentage of organic food sold at retail stores.

In March, organic spinach was recalled due to a potential listeria contamination. The spinach that was used by five brands, including Amy’s Kitchen and Costco. More than 500,000 units were affected by the recall. Stericycle and the trade association tallied the data differently; Organic Trade Association considers it a single recall while Stericycle counted every unit affected.

The post Organic Food Recalls are Increasing, Report Shows appeared first on Parker Waichman -

from Parker Waichman http://www.yourlawyer.com/blog/organic-food-recalls-are-increasing-report-shows/