Study Reveals Fewer Mold Toxins in Organically Grown Grain, Compared to Grain Grown Conventionally

May 28, 2024

By Anne Wennberg

An international meta study reveals that there may be less of certain mold toxins in organically grown grain, compared to grain grown in the conventional manner. This, and other findings from research into agricultural products, can have major consequences.

"Up until now, the general assumption has been that grain grown using organic methods is more contaminated with mold toxins than grain grown in the conventional way and contaminated grain can pose a health risk to humans.

"An extensive meta analysis published in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, demonstrates the opposite," says professor Per Ole Iversen.

He is one of two scientists from the Department of Nutrition at UiO who participated in the study. Carlo Leifert, professor of organic agriculture and currently a guest professor at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, also both initiated and participated in the study.

Several advantages to organic farming

Iversen is the representative of human medicine in the research group and believes that the study is greatly strengthened by being interdisciplinary. "The meta study we have just published makes it clear that organic methods of cultivation do not lead to a higher incidence of mold in crops than conventionally grown grain, and to some extent, the opposite is the case: for two types of mold, there was no difference."

In addition, the study has also revealed a number of advantages linked to organic cultivation.

"Research into organically grown foods has been carried out for many years and many people believe that this type of cultivation is good for both livestock and farmers—and for human health—but we were not quite sure about the latter.

"Now it looks as if organically grown fruit and vegetables have a more favorable content of antioxidants and micronutrients than agricultural products produced in the conventional way, and this can be good for both you and me," says Iversen.

Surprising findings on mold

Iversen believes that the study will have major consequences.

"The myth that organic cultivation has a higher risk of being affected by mold has now been largely refuted. In any case, it should not weaken the message that organic food production is to be recommended," says Iversen, adding that these findings are very surprising and have weight, since they are based on a large number of well documented findings from different parts of the world.

Students and pregnant women are included in the study

Iversen and his colleagues have previously conducted a randomized, clinical study among university students, where they also found that organically grown food is advantageous compared to agricultural products cultivated in the normal way.

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Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.