Organic farming is at the centre of a growing row in France, after health authorities said produce grown to organic standards may be just as contaminated by cadmium – a toxic heavy metal linked to cancer and bone disease – as conventional agriculture. The finding has prompted pushback from the sector and raised questions for consumers.
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Anses, France’s public health agency, said last week that people in France are overexposed to cadmium through food.
It added that organic farming could be “potentially just as impacted as conventional agriculture” because some fertilisers allowed in organic systems may contain the toxic metal.
The National Federation of Organic Agriculture (FNAB), which represents organic farmers, has rejected that conclusion and called on the agency to correct what it described as “factual errors”.
Daily newspaper Le Monde also found that some studies suggesting lower cadmium levels in organic crops were not taken into account in the agency’s public communication.
Cadmium is a known carcinogen, linked to cancers and bone disease.
“Levels in France are up to three or four times higher than in countries such as Belgium, England or Italy,” toxicologist and coordinator of the report, Géraldine Carne, warned.
Around 47 percent of adults and nearly one in five children exceed safe levels of cadmium.
Anses urged authorities to lower cadmium limits in phosphate fertilisers and advised people to reduce consumption of foods such as bread, pasta, breakfast cereals and potatoes, which are among the most contaminated.
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Organic practices questioned
The dispute centres on how organic farming operates in practice.
Anses said fertilisers such as mineral phosphates, which can contain cadmium, are allowed in organic agriculture and may be widely used. The FNAB rejected that claim, saying it does not reflect how organic farming is actually practised in France.
“Not only has the agency failed to take into account recent work showing that organic farmers use little or no mineral phosphate, but organic rules already impose stricter limits than conventional farming,” the federation said in comments reported by Le Monde.
Organic farms must stay below 60mg/kg of cadmium in their fertilisers, while conventional farms in France are allowed to use fertilisers with higher levels – up to 90mg/kg.
Data from a French study named PhosphoBio also challenges Anses’ claim. Carried out by Arvalis, a technical institute for crop farming, the research tracked fertilisation practices on 175 plots between 2017 and 2021.
Across 866 recorded fertilisation events, only one involved the use of natural phosphate, suggesting it is rarely used by organic farmers in France.
Anses said its report “was not aimed at comparing specific practices in organic and conventional farming, but at identifying ways to control cadmium pollution”, even though organic farming is discussed in its findings.
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Evidence in dispute
One review cited in the report found it “probable” that organic cereals contain less cadmium. Other studies in the United States and Morocco have reached similar conclusions, although the agency said it chose to rely mainly on French data.
Research findings remain mixed. “We are in a state of uncertainty. More studies specific to France would be needed,” the National Institute for Agricultural Research said.
A 2014 meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Nutrition, cited by Greens MP Benoît Biteau, found cadmium levels in organic food were on average 48 percent lower than in conventional products.
“There is 48 percent less cadmium in organic food. That’s half,” he said on LCP, the French parliamentary television channel.
Anses said its own data did not allow firm conclusions and indicated it may carry out further comparative research.
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Crop by crop differences
Research shows the picture varies depending on the type of food. A study in the US found cadmium levels were two to four times lower in organic tomatoes, potatoes, onions and carrots, but higher in lettuce.
Other products can show the opposite pattern.
Analysis published in June 2025 by consumer magazine Que Choisir found that organic chocolate was on average more contaminated than conventional chocolate, because organic cocoa farms are often located in Central America, where soils naturally contain more cadmium than in Africa.
Organic producers say the report overlooks how cadmium builds up in farming systems over time.
“Once cadmium is introduced into agricultural systems through contaminated fertilisers, it stays there,” FNAB said. “Organic farming does not add cadmium to the system. Suggesting they are the same is misleading.”
