Progress 09/15/02 to 09/14/04
Outputs
The First World Congress on Organic Food: Meeting the Challenges of Safety and Quality for Fruits, Vegetables and Grains was held March 29-31, 2004 at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich. (www.foodsafe.msu.edu/organics) About 100 attendees participated. The congress was organized into seven general sessions with breakout sessions each day centered on research, policy and communications/education, and resulted in a final Sense of the Congress document that is detailed in the printed and CD proceedings. The Congress had 25 invited speakers, including 6 from countries outside of North America. The keynote speaker was Kathleen Merrigan, staff author of the U.S. Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, mandating national organic standards and a program of federal accreditation. Twelve technical abstracts were accepted for an oral/visual poster session on March 30. Congress attendees heard from students and professionals
during the technical poster session, with 12 presented posters (16 posters were accepted) from around the world on organic topics such as antimicrobial resistance on organic dairy farms, sprout safety problems, and produce worker hygiene problems. Financial support for this event was provided through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (USDA-CSREES). Additional financial and in-kind support was provided by the National Food Safety & Toxicology Center, Michigan State University, Organic Trade Association, International Association for Food Protection, C.S. Mott Group at MSU, NSF Intl., GSC Mobile Solutions, with participation from the Intl. Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Also participating: the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA), the Organic Growers of Michigan (OGM), and the Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance (MOFFA). Publications included a web site
(www.foodsafe.msu.edu/organics), 1000 print proceedings (available online or by mail), and 150 CD proceedings (limited copies still available for a small fee by mail). The printed proceedings highlight the main points of discussion as verbatim as possible. The session summaries of the print proceedings attempt to capture main points only of the speaker presentations; and the Congress CD proceedings include the actual commentary. All attendees received a copy of the CD and print proceedings at no charge. The NFSTC distributed about 400 copies of the print proceedings to all attendees, sponsors, moderators and supporters and by request to non-attendees. About 500 additional copies were were sent to the following organizations to further distribute: Organic&Natural World Expo, Korea; Intl. Congress 2005 in Newcastle, UK; The Intl. Congress on Organic Farming; CS Mott Group; Organic Trade Assn.; The Organic Center; Organic Farming Research Foundation; U.S. Dept. of Agriculture,
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; Intl. Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements; University of Newcastle upon Tyne; Inst. of Organic Agriculture; and Intl. Assn. for Food Protection. This progress report concludes the project.
Impacts
The Congress was the first ever to delve into the food safety research of organic fruits, vegetables and grains. As paraphrased by our then Provost and now University President, Lou Anna K. Simon, during the Congress: It is important that we find the 'ands' among the organic community and food safety efforts, and that we understand perspectives from various places within and around organic food systems including growers, inspectors, consumers, researchers, and industry leaders. Equally as valuable was the interaction and ideas generated from the breakout sessions. These sessions resulted in recommendations that will serve as guidance for future action in organic research, education/communication and policy. Among the achieved goals of the congress: identification of organic research needs, organic policy recommendations, and dialogue between the scientific community and organic practitioners, which has continued long past the congress. Next steps were identified by
attendees in their evaluations and also during the breakout sessions, including specific research recommendations.
Publications
- The First World Congress on Organic Food: Meeting the Challenges of Safety and Quality for Fruits, Vegetables and Grains: March 29-31, 2004, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA: proceedings.
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Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
The First World Congress on Organic Food: Meeting the Challenges of Safety and Quality for Fruits, Vegetables and Grains, will be held March 29-31, 2004 at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, in East Lansing, Michigan. The Congress will focus on the challenges faced and initiatives taken to address the safety and quality of organic produce and grains. Sessions will review and explore the safety of organic food globally, with an emphasis on data gaps and future research needs. Sessions will include presentations by nationally and internationally renowned experts in areas related to organic food safety, including microbial concerns, pesticide issues, and standards and certification. There are currently thirteen confirmed invited speakers, including four from countries outside of North America. Abstracts for technical presentations have also been received and accepted. Current Congress co-sponsors include the International Association for Food Protection and the
Organic Trade Association. Proceedings from the Congress will be made available on the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center website, as well as in a printed version.
Impacts
Organic food is a growing market and the safety aspects of organically grown fruits and vegetables are incompletely known. This conference will bring together experts from different countries to present and discuss the chemical and microbiological safety of organically grown food. Proceedings of the meeting will be prepared and disseminated.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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