ABC's world-renowned 20/20 reporter John Stossel apparently engaged in numerous improprieties when it aired a special report on organic foods in February and then aired again in July.

On this Friday's show, Mr. Stossel apologized for the "inaccurate information" which included the following:

• Mr. Stossel maintained that tests commissioned by ABC News found no evidence of pesticides on either conventional or organic foods. In actuality, no tests had been done at all. ABC now admits that "no tests for pesticides had been done on produce."

• ABC squashed the results of a study that they commissioned, which didn't give them the results they were looking for. These tests found higher levels of pesticides in conventional chicken compared to "organic" chicken.

• Mr. Stossel also made the misleading statement on the program that higher levels of bacteria were found on organic produce than on conventional produce. While this may be technically correct, the underlying meaning in the assertion was that the higher bacteria levels were dangerous. In reality, they only tested for a broad class of bacteria, not for pathogenic bacteria that can make people sick.

In addition to the on-air apology, according to ABC, John Stossel was "reprimanded" and a producer was suspended for one month without pay. According to The Environmental Working Group, Stossel's reprimand is inadequate. "That's not enough! Stossel lied and threatened an entire industry by disseminating false and damaging information. He should be fired for violating the most basic ethical standards of journalism" they maintain.

In an interview Stossel actually made the assertion that "buying organic could kill you." If find this too difficult to believe, the Environmental Working Group has a copy of the video on their site, which can be viewed for free.

The 20/20 report was heavily criticized by the Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting group, a media watchdog group that is not affiliated in any way with the organic food industry, as well as the Organic Trade Association, The Environmental Working Group, and Citizens For Health. In light of this scandal, several of these groups are now calling for John Stossel to be fired.

The Environmental Working Group said it had complained to ABC about the original report's accuracy after it originally aired in February. Despite this, Stossel repeated the mistake on July 7 in a comment made to anchorwoman Cynthia McFadden: "It's logical to worry about pesticide residues, but in our tests, we found none on either organic or regular produce."

Additionally, after the environmentalists' original complaints, ABC sent a form letter erroneously claiming that pesticide tests had been conducted on produce, said Mike Casey, the group's spokesman. "They absolutely didn't take this seriously," he said.

The those who would like to voice their concern on the conduct of ABC News and John Stossel, should send an e-mail to his boss or to John Stossel himself.