A sickening scenario spoiled business for a cluster of supermarkets across Japan in January: Some store shelves carried a number of eggs that were six months old.
"Many consumers were shocked," said Julia Yamaguchi, an independent organic inspector and consultant involved with the Japan External Trade Organization. "We realized there were no regulation dates for eggs in Japan."
Such health and safety oversights are the focus of the First World Congress on Organic Food, which will continue through Wednesday at the Kellogg Center. The event, sponsored by MSU's National Food Safety & Toxicology Center, brings experts and researchers from around the world to determine risks and benefits involved with organic food production.
According to the center, between 0.3 and 2 percent of farmland in the United States is certified as organic.
Thorough scientific research on health benefits and specific legal guidelines for pesticide use are necessary as organic food sales continue to grow nationwide, said Ewen Todd, the center's director.
"Consumers are looking for added value," he said. "People are generally concerned about safety and quality. One merges into another."
Mandates and health risks associated with organic foods could be hot-button topics in Michigan within the next decade since "the consumer support is there," said Mark Lipson, policy program director for the Organic Farming Research Foundation.
"This is a good indicator of the progress research and science is making," he said. "There is no question that it's growing fast and will be growing in the future."
Safety issues have far-reaching global implications as well. In a Monday session titled "Production and safety of organic food: Perspectives from outside the United States," a panel of experts from across the globe analyzed the impact of organic products, including fresh fruits or vegetables, on the international food market.
In Australia, millions of federal dollars are earmarked for programs educating farmers on proper organic food production, said Barbara Geno, a researcher at the Rural Industries Research & Development Cooperation in Queensland, Australia.
"Food safety is only as effective as the amount of commitment to monitor it," she said.
Organic food is a rapidly growing segment of international markets because many crops do not contain harmful chemical residues or additives found in conventionally produced provisions, said Sergio Carballo, a horticulture researcher at Instituto Nacional de Investigaci-n Agropecuaria in Uruguay.
"Organic certified areas have dramatically increased," he said. "It is an important alternative for many growers in South America."
Dr. Lise Korsten, a professor at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, said her nation's government continually evaluates the environmental effects of organic food production.
"We want ecological balance," she said. "We want to re-establish the systems that were there before."
