Stossel Relents on Some Claims on Organic Food

ABC News correspondent John Stossel, under fire for a television report he did questioning the safety of organic food, backed off some of his contentions during Friday’s episode of “20/20.”

In response to the Organic Trade Assn.’s claim that certified organic food is a safe choice for consumers, Stossel said, “I want to make it clear that I agree. America’s food supply--conventional and organic--is remarkably safe; bacteria can be a risk, though--in both organic and conventional produce--so we should wash all produce before we eat it.”

Stossel also addressed the issue of misreported test results, for which he was reprimanded by ABC News this week and producer David Fitzpatrick was suspended for one month.

Stossel said they had thought laboratories commissioned by “20/20” had tested for pesticides, “but they hadn’t. We misunderstood, and that was our fault. Then we made things worse. In July, I repeated the report.”

The Stossel piece originally aired Feb. 4 and was repeated July 7.

This week the Organic Trade Assn., representing the organic food industry, whose sales exceeded $5 billion last year, and the Washington-based Environmental Working Group demanded a full retraction and said they were contemplating legal action.