Organic growers work diligently to meet the high demand for organic produce and protect consumers from foodborne illnesses. Yet many organic growers face serious obstacles in meeting both food safety requirements and USDA National Organic Program standards.

According to a 2019 USDA Organic Survey, compliance with food safety regulations is one of the greatest challenges facing organic farming today, creating hardship for growers of all scales–large and small–to maintain their organic certification.

Some of these challenges can be solved by equipping organic growers with better evidence-based guidance and technologies, but other obstacles result from contradictions between food safety and organic regulation.

Resolving these deeper tensions will require a concerted effort across the supply chain and with organic and food safety regulators to adopt a shared understanding of how to grow food both organically and safely.

_{This work is supported by the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative, project award no. 2023-51300-40950, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.} 

_{Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.} 

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