Excerpt from the column "Off the Editor's
Desk"
by Anne
Bulford
OEFFA News - Summer 2000
The 20/20 report titled "The Food You Eat - Organic Foods May Not
Be as Healthy as You Think" has been aired twice this year on ABC,once
in February and once in July, and has been distributed to affiliated
stations. On Aug 11 an on-air apology was made regarding misinformation
presented in the report.
The apology was focused on the inaccurate reporting
of test results commissioned on behalf of ABC. These tests were referred
to several times during the 20/20 report. Stossel reported that the
tests showed two things. First,that there was no pesticide residue
on either the organic or conventional produce tested (a test that was
never done) and second that E. Coli levels were much higher on organic
salad mix than on a commercial mix posing a dangerous threat to consumers
(which was not the conclusion of the lab work). Based on what he understood
the test results to be, Stossel asked the hard hitting question "Shouldn't
we do a warning that says this stuff could kill you and buying organic
could kill you?"
There were concerns regarding the integrity of the report raised early
on. DiMatteo was interviewed for the show and was surprised by both the
tone of her interviewer and the report that resulted, feeling that both
she and the industry had been badly misrepresented. OTA issued a letter
to the show's executive producer before it was aired but did not receive
a response.
The Environmental Working Group of Washington, DC, further investigated
the report and found not only that the tests done for E. Coli were generic
tests and not specifically for pathogenic (toxic) E. Coli, but that there
was no test at all done for pesticide residue on produce. (There was
one done on chicken that showed trace amounts of residue on conventional
chickens and none on organic chickens, but this one was not mentioned
in the report.)
The Environmental Working Group is accusing Stossel
and his team of blatantly fabricating the test and is calling for severe
action to be taken. ABC is reporting that the report was an honest
mistake. In Stossel's public apology he concluded with "I apologize for the error. I am
deeply sorry I misled you. I never want to do that." In his apology,
Stossel pointed out that OTA had written a letter restating that organic
food is a safe choice in the market and that he wanted to make it clear
that he agreed. The producer of the original 20/20 report has been suspended
for a month without pay.
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