Report on the Organic Monitoring Program of Baden-Württemberg 2010

Schmuckelement.The Federal State of Baden-Württemberg has been conducting a special monitoring program on organically produced foods since 2002. This monitoring is associated with Baden-Württemberg’s overall concept of promoting organic farming. It is executed within the scope of official food control. Organic products are systematically tested for residues and contaminants, as well as other relevant substances such as additives. The goal of the organic monitoring program is to prevent fraud by better tracking down cases of  improper organic labelling in this fast expanding market and to strengthen consumer confidence in the quality of organically produced foods.

 

The specific aims of our organic monitoring program are:

  • Collection of data regarding residues and contaminants in organic products (e.g. pesticides, veterinary drugs, genetically modified plants, irradiation, etc)
  • Comparison of organic foods produced locally and in foreign countries, especially in third world countries
  • Comparison of organically and conventionally produced foods

 

The monitoring program is being carried out as a joint project by the four official food control laboratories (CVUAs) of Baden-Württemberg, in close collaboration with the authority in charge of organic foods (Öko-Kontrollstelle im Regierungspräsidium Karlsruhe). CVUA Stuttgart is responsible for coordination and reporting. All the results are published annually on the Internet (http://oekomonitoring.cvuas.de) and the media has shown great interest in the findings. This is only a short summary of the monitoring results. A comprehensive report with detailed data can be found in German on the Internet.

To be able to compare organic products with their counterparts, conventional products were also surveyed. Samples were taken from all stages of production and sales.

In 2010, the organic monitoring focused on the following topics:

 

Genetically modified (GM) plants

Genetic modifications as contaminant in organic foods continue to be rare. Samples of organic maize and organic linseeds contained no constituents of genetically modified plants.  In organic soy products traces of authorized GM soybean were occasionally detected, but only in traces.

Mycotoxins

The infestation of foods with mycotoxins poses a problem at virtually all stages of food and feed production. Subject to miscellaneous external conditions, specific Fungi produce metabolites, which can harm the human and animal body in various ways.

Mycotoxin contamination is quite prevalent in cereals; especially maize and rye are affected. For maize, the fumonisins B1 and B2, zearalenone and deoxynivalenol are the most frequently found mycotoxins; for rye, it’s deoxynivalenol as well as T2- and HT-2-toxins. The toxins beauvericin and enniatin A, A1 and B1, which were included in the analysis spectrum for the first time, were also detected quite often in rye grains and rye products.

Comparing the different types of production (organic vs. conventional) is statistically uncertain, due to the small amount of organic samples tested. For fumonisins and zearalenone, the contamination was much higher in conventional products compared to the few organic products tested, while a quite high level of contamination from deoxynivalenol in one organic sample tells a different story. However, if conventional and organic products were sampled in equal numbers, the organic products would also have an advantage over the conventional ones.

Rye grains and rye products were sampled in comparable numbers of organic and conventional foods, so that a tendency toward mycotoxin contamination could be clearly seen. For T2- and HT-2-toxins, organic products were much less contaminated than conventional ones. For deoxynivalenol no difference was detected between conventional and organic products, since both the level of contamination as well as the frequency of occurrence were similar. Nevertheless, the highest level of deoxynivalenol contamination was detected in an organic product. The difference concerning contamination with beauvericin and the enniatins is obvious. Concerning the frequency of occurrence as well as the contamination level, organic products have a clear advantage.

Exceedances of the legal maximum limits for fumonisins, zearalenone and deoxynivalenol were not found this year. For T2- and HT-2-toxins limits have not yet been established, even after long lasting discussions. For beauvericin and enniatin no limits have yet been discussed.

In conclusion, infestation with the Fusarium fungis and their toxic metabolites in organic farming has been clearly diminished by planting methods such as cultivation, crop rotation and breed selection.

Pesticide residues in samples of plant origin

497 samples of plant origin labelled as organic were tested in 2010. More than 550 different pesticides were analyzed in each sample. As in preceding years, organically grown fruit and vegetable samples differed significantly from their conventionally produced analogues regarding residues of synthetically produced pesticides, both in frequency of their occurrence and in the total amount found. In most of the organic samples no detectable residues of plant protection products were found. In the few cases where residues were detected, they mainly involved one active substance at a trace level (below 0.01 mg/kg), thus far below the usual concentrations which come about in plant products after pesticide treatment.

The average amount of pesticides detected in the analyzed fruit samples labelled as organically grown was 0.003 mg/kg. If the “organic” samples suspected of actually being conventionally produced or a mixture thereof are omitted from the calculation, the overall average pesticide amount results in a low of 0.002 mg/kg. In contrast, conventionally grown fruits contained on average 0.34 mg/kg pesticides (Surface treatment products were omitted from this calculation).

For vegetables, the samples labelled as organically grown contained an average of 0.003 mg/kg pesticides. If the “organic” samples suspected of actually being conventionally produced or a mixture thereof are omitted from the calculation, the overall average pesticide amount also results in 0.003 mg/kg. In contrast, conventionally grown vegetables contained an average of 0.36 mg/kg pesticides (without bromide).

As in the previous year, no extensive residue problem was detected in organically grown fresh fruits and vegetables. In past years, isolated problems with some organic crops were found: herbicides in Italian broccoli and Italian carrots, the fungicide fosetyl in cucumbers of different origins, residues of surface treatment products in citrus fruits as well as potatoes. These problems no longer exist. The percentage of nonconformity regarding all fresh produce labelled as organic has remained similarly low in comparison to 2009: 1.3% in 2010, 1.0% in 2009, 4.9 % in 2008, 7.5 % in 2007, 4.9% in 2006 and 8.4% in 2005. Only four samples of fresh produce labelled as organic had to be reported to the authorities due to an increased presence of chemical synthetic pesticide residues: a sample of lettuce from Italy, apples from Argentina, an avocado from Peru and a Kiwi of unknown origin. 

Regarding processed organic foods of plant origin, 6.3% of samples were in breach of the acceptable threshold of pesticides.  This was much higher than for fresh produce and was also above the percentage from the previous year (1.4 %).  Especially organic wines (eight samples) and frozen foods (three samples) were problematic.

Table: Pesticide residue situation in fresh fruits and vegetables (CVUA Stuttgart 2010)
Production type Number of samples Samples
with residues		 Samples
with residues
> 0.01 mg/kg1		 Samples
with residues
> MRL2		 Number of
pesticides > MRL		 Samples with multiple
residues
Leaf vegetables
organic
53
17 (32%)
3 (6%)
0
0
7 (13%)
conventional
306
269 (88%)
208 (68%)
16 (5%)
22
214 (70%)
Fruiting vegetables
organic
55
13 (24%)
1 (2%)
0
0
3 (6%)
conventional
286
246 (86%)
183 (64%)
22 (8%)
27
208 (73%)
Brassica vegetables
organic
12
6 (50%)
0
0
0
0
conventional
119
64 (54%)
18 (15%)
0
0
27 (23%)
Root vegetables
organic
41
5 (12%)
0
0
0
2 (5%)
conventional
55
43 (78%)
24 (44%)
1 (2%)
1
33 (60%)
Potatoes
organic
16
3 (19%)
0
0
0
2 (33%)
conventional
18
16 (89%)
11 (61%)
0
0
14 (78%)
Cultivated mushrooms
organic
22
11 (50%)
0
0
0
0
conventional
50
32 (64%)
21 (42%)
5 (10%)
5
10 (20%)
Berries and grapes
organic
13
3 (23%)
0
0
0
0
conventional
341
321 (94%)
294 (86%)
19 (6%)
20
291 (85%)
Pome fruit
organic
36
3 (8%)
1 (3%)
0
0
1 (3%)
conventional
110
88 (80%)
80 (73%)
0
0
80 (73%)
Stone fruits
organic
7
2 (29%)
1 (14%)
0
0
1 (14%)
conventional
150
141 (94%)
119 (79%)
2 (1%)
2
121 (81%)
Citrus fruit
organic
24
8 (33%)
0
0
0
2 (8%)
conventional
130
127 (98%)
120 (92%)
8 (6%)
9
120 (92%)
Exotic fruit
organic
37
9 (24%)
1 (3%)
0
0
1 (3%)
conventional
226
163 (72%)
115 (51%)
11 (5%)
11
122 (54%)

1Not including azadirachtin, piperonyl butoxide, pyrethrins, spinosad and rotenone (authorized in organic farming); bromide < 5 mg/kg and gibberelic acid
2MRL = maximum residue level; Reg. (EC) No. 396/20

Wine

Organic production of wine has also been an issue in recent years, though still to a smaller extent. The levels of copper in organic and conventional wines produced in the local cultivation areas of Württemberg and Baden as well as Italy and Spain were compared. Results showed that local organic wines tended to have lower copper levels than local conventional wines.

Apart from the copper levels, pesticide residues were also analysed in the wine samples. Eight of a total of 67 wine samples labelled as organic had to be reported to the authorities due to residues of pesticides. Since the amount of pesticides present in fresh wine grapes changes during the process of making wine, individual processing factors for the different pesticides were used for legal assessment.

Heat-generated food toxicants

From 2008 to 2010, roasted and ground coffees from conventional and organic production were analyzed for furan. Organic coffees showed an average of 2346 µg/kg furan, while conventionally grown coffee showed an average of 2769 µg/kg furan. Thus, a small difference between organic and conventional coffee was observed. However, for organically grown coffee a slight increase in the median level of furan was observed in the last three years. In 2008 and 2009, the median for furan in organic coffee was 2050 µg/kg, while in 2010 the value increased to 2744 µg/kg. The median for conventionally grown coffee remained at 2800 µg/kg, approximately the same for the last three years.

Food additives

Glutamic acid in ready-to-serve meals: in a press release of the newspaper Badische Zeitung from 25 March, 2011 the following statement concerning the use of flavour enhancing agents was made: it’s “in” if it’s not inside (“In ist, wenn es nicht drin ist”).  In the food service industry as well as in retail it’s “in” to label foods as “without flavour enhancing agents”. The consumer thus expects that organically labelled foods should also not contain any flavour enhancers and thus should be free of glutamic acid, guanylate and inosinate. For comparison, the level of glutamic acid was analyzed in organic foods and conventional foods, especially those labelled as “free of flavour enhancers”. No difference was observed in the tested samples.

Colouring agents in sweets: in the scope of the organic monitoring program 50 samples of coloured sweets such as jelly products, bonbons, fruit gums, lollipops and sherbet were tested for the type of colouring agents used. None of the tested products, organic or conventional, had to be reported to the authorities. Only 2 products were labelled incorrectly. This study shows that there is a trend, also for conventional sweets, towards omitting the use of artificial colouring agents in favour of using natural colours and colouring foods.

Dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in foodstuffs

Dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs), as lipophilic environmental contaminants, generally accumulate in the fatty tissues of foods of animal origin. Due to the widespread environmental pollution of these substances, there is little difference between the amounts found in organically and conventionally produced foods.  However, producers of both types of foods are strictly bound to comply with the very low maximum levels set by legal regulations.

In 2010, mainly baby food containing meat, as well as poultry from organic and conventional production, were analyzed for dioxins and dl-PCBs.

36 samples of poultry (organic and conventional) were monitored. Almost all poultry samples complied with the limits, with levels of dioxins (median: 0.12 pg WHO-PCB-TEQ/g fat), dl-PCBs (median: 0.20 pg WHO-PCB-TEQ/g fat) and the sum of dioxins and dl-PCBs (median: 0.34 pg WHO-PCB-TEQ/g fat) being well below the legal limits and the alert level, regardless of the production type. Only one organic sample exceeded the alert level for dioxins and another organic sample exceeded the alert level for dl-PCBs, but considering the measurement uncertainty, the exceedances were not definite. The mean levels of dioxins and dl-PCBs in poultry from conventional production were slightly lower than those in poultry of organic production, but it has to be considered that only 9 samples of organic poultry were tested vs. 27 samples of conventional poultry.

Basically, in the tested baby foods low levels of dioxins and dl-PCBs were found, regardless of whether the samples were from organic or conventional production. All samples were below the set maximum limit. The highest level found for the sum of dioxins and dl-PCBs was still 4 times below the proposed maximum limit.

Organic contaminants and pesticide residues in foods of animal origin

Concerning the level of organic contaminants found in different food types of animal origin, apart from a few exceptions, there was no significant difference between organically and conventionally produced foods. The levels of chloro- and bromo-organic contaminants, pesticide residues and nitromusk substances have generally decreased in the last 20 years. DDT, PCB and partly HCB still show the highest levels. The average degree of contamination of these substances in poultry is currently below 5.0 µg/kg fat. A clear trend compared to the contamination levels found in 2004/2005 is not noticeable. Only for the levels of PCB was a decrease found in 2010 compared to (2004/2005), when PCB levels still dominated.

In baby foods persistent chloro-organic pesticides and environmental comtaminants as well as nitro-musks were detected in only very low levels. All substances found were well below the very low set maximum limits.

Stable isotope ratio of nitrogen (15N / 14N) as indicator for the type of fertilization used in food production

The stable isotope ratio of nitrogen (15N / 14N) in plant materials can be used as a hint for the type of fertilization (synthetic or organic) used in production, and thus may be an indicator for the type of farming (conventional or organic). According to EU legislation, only fertilizers from organic sources may be used in organic production. The isotopic ratio of mineral and organic fertilizers differs quite significantly, and this difference can also be detected in the fertilized plants.

On the basis of the results from the past three years, tomatoes, sweet peppers and salad greens from organic and conventional production showed a difference in the frequency distribution of the isotopic ratio. But there were also areas of notable overlapping. Thus, a statistical approach is needed, and a broad data base of samples with verified declaration of the fertilization type used is compulsory. Hence, more verifiable data still has to be collected.

Cosmetics

Since last year, no change in the legal situation on natural cosmetics has occurred, thus no legal definition on natural cosmetics exists. Natural cosmetics are subject to the same regulations as normal cosmetic products (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009). This regulation has been in force since the beginning of 2010 and is applicable in stages. The transitional provisions will be in place until 11 July, 2013.

The assessment of the cosmetic product respectively its formula in conjunction with the labelling and thus possible consumer fraud is difficult to assess and must be examined case by case. The minimum requirements for natural cosmetics, introduced in the recommendations by the Ministry of Health (Empfehlungen des Bundesministeriums für Gesundheit) from 1993 and an opinion issued by the Council of Europe are not legally binding and are not up to date. Currently the recommendations are being revised.

In addition to the known producers of natural cosmetics with their various labels, more and more producers of conventional cosmetics are also placing natural cosmetics on the market. Also, many soap producers now sell their soaps as natural cosmetics. Under the framework of the organic monitoring program, CVUAs Freiburg and Karlsruhe assessed 34 natural cosmetic products for their microbiological condition and the presence of preservatives this year.

The label “without preservatives” seems to be very profitable for marketing and preferred by consumers. Thus, to avoid preservatives, substances are often used that have antimicrobial properties, but which are not officially designated as preservatives according to cosmetic laws. Frequently, silver and its compounds such as silver oxide and silver nitrate are used for this purpose.

Soaps from small producers were often incorrectly labelled as “100% natural”, “herbal only”, “without artificial preservatives” or “without animal testing”.  Or the labelling of the product was incorrect when allergenic fragrances were not indicated on the ingredient list.

In total, the result of the 34 tested natural cosmetics was good, except for a few cosmetics which had to be reported to the authorities. Save for three products with non-authorised preservatives (silver and silver compounds) or preservatives which should not be used in natural cosmetics (isothiazolone), the manufacturers of natural cosmetics succeeded in creating proper, microbially-untainted formulations by skillfully using natural substances with antimicrobial properties, targeted raw material selection and hygienic production methods. The labelling of soaps was also not always correct.

Note

Detailed information (including result tables) can be found in the German version of the monitoring report (PDF 1,90 MB).
If you have any questions concerning the report on the Organic Monitoring Program of Baden-Württemberg, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Additional Downloads

Organic monitoring summary report 2002-2006: