Unintentional pesticide contamination of organic products poses a major challenge to the organic sector. This planning project gathered information on economic losses, specific pesticides, and strategies that farmers and handlers use to minimize contamination, and identified research, education, and outreach needs. The original goal was to develop a full OREI proposal to support the development of comprehensive plans to prevent pesticide contamination in the field and throughout the organic supply chain.

The project team conducted a survey in 2021, entitled ‘Inadvertent Pesticide Contamination Survey: A Survey of Certified Organic Producers, Processors, and Handlers.’ Analysis of 160 responses revealed the following needs:
(1) A nationwide compilation of pesticide testing results.
(2) Examination of economic (loss of certification, markets, and revenue) and non-economic (harm to farmer and community wellbeing) costs of inadvertent contamination.
(3) Facilitated dialogue between organic farmers and non-organic neighbors.
(4) Better understanding of impacts throughout the organic supply chain and how growers and processors might equitably share risks.
(5) Research into how farm scale, cropping system, and marketing strategy affect the level of risks farmers face in the event of inadvertent contamination.
(6) Policy, research, and other interventions to mitigate the problem.

The complexity of this issue necessitates an interdisciplinary approach, and the project team was not able to identify a Principal Investigator to lead proposal development and execution of the study. Therefore, the planning project did not result in a full OREI proposal.