%0 Conference Paper
%A van de Vijver, L.P.L.
%A Broex, N.
%A Hoogenboom, L.A.P.
%A van der Roest, J.
%A Bokhorst, J.G.
%A Northolt, M.D.
%A Mevius, D.
%A Meijs, J.A.C.
%D 2006
%F orgprints:7234
%T Contaminants and micro-organisms in organic and conventional food products
%U http://orgprints.org/7234/
%X In the Netherlands we investigated animal and plant products on potentially hazardous contamination with heavy metals, mycotoxins, pesticide residues, patho-genic micro-organisms and nitrate. In most cases, the organically produced foods had equal or lower amounts of contaminants than conventionally pro-duced products.  These results conflict with a common idea that organic farming theoretically increases food safety risks. For many contaminants organic food showed a large diversity in the amount of contamina-tion. Experience with organic farming, managing and manure use partly explain these differences. Understanding of these cultivation parameters can help in further improvement of organic cultivation practices.