Dr. Rosemary Stanton, a nutritionist based in Australia, writes in response to our (June 16) coverage of the E. coli outbreak in Europe:
Dr. Rosemary Stanton, a nutritionist based in Australia, writes in response to our (June 16) coverage of the E. coli outbreak in Europe:
Since the outbreak of E. coli in Germany has now been traced to fenugreek seeds from Egypt, I hope you will reassess your attribution of the disastrous outbreak to the organic methods of the farm where the sprouts were grown.
Your usual call for evidence was somehow missing here, especially since the farm in question stated that it did not use any organic manure in its hydroponic production of sprouts.
I would agree with you that it is not valid to promote organically grown produce on the basis of any superior content of vitamins or minerals, but equally it is not valid to damn an industry on the basis of supposition. I hope you correct the error.
ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross replies:
Our commentary on June 16 was based on the best information available at the time from the EU health authorities, who had seemingly traced the source of the outbreak to an organic farm s sprouts. And, while some now place blame on the Egyptian seeds you mention, others remain unsure of that as the final word. Finally, while the main points we made about organic methods may not apply to this most recent instance, they remain relevant to the practice of organic farming in general. We thank you, though, for bringing this to our attention.
