Comparison of contaminant and residue levels in organic and conventional milk and meat products from northern Italy.
Due to the growing interest in organic products, a comparison between the chemical safety of organic and conventional products was undertaken. Milk and meat were the products chosen for study. The parameters evaluated to assess chemical safety were organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead, cadmium and mycotoxin contamination. Pesticides and PCBs residues in both organic and conventional milk and meat were lower than legal limits. Lead and cadmium residues were very low and did not differ between organic and conventional products. However, aflatoxin M1 contamination in some but not all samples of organic milk was significantly higher than those of conventional milk, although factors other than organic production might be implicated.
Ghidini
S
S
Dipartimento di Produzioni Animali, Biotecnologie Veterinarie, Qualità e Sicurezza degli Alimenti, Università degli Studi di Parma, I-43100 Parma, Italy. sergio.ghidini@unipr.it
Zanardi
E
E
Battaglia
A
A
Varisco
G
G
Ferretti
E
E
Campanini
G
G
Chizzolini
R
R
D016607:Aflatoxin M1 / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D005504:Food Analysis / Q000379:methods; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D058870:Food, Organic / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008461:Meat Products / Q000032:analysis*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry*; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000032:analysis; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis
D019216:Metals, Heavy; D010573:Pesticide Residues; D016607:Aflatoxin M1; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls