Revealed: The foods we’re eating that contain weed killer
A new study called the Total Diet Survey, which was done by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has found that Australians are eating the RoundUp chemical “glyphosate” for breakfast.
The research also found that parents are unknowingly feeding it to infants as the chemical was found in baby food.
The chemical was also found in:
- Multigrain, wholemeal, spelt, rye and white breads
- Savoury biscuits and crackers
- Rice-based breakfast cereals
- Rice-based flours
- Rice-based crackers
- Infant baby cereal, as this is also a rice-based product
Cereals and cereal products, in particular bread, were the “major contributing food category to glyphosate dietary exposures” according to the agency.
However, the agency was quick to point out that the levels found within the bread was well below accepted dietary limits and concluded that there was “no public health and safety concerns for most substances”.
The 25th Australian Total Diet Survey sampled 88 foods for a wide range of herbicides and pesticides and found that contaminant levels were “generally low, with a large proportion of food supplies containing no detectable residues” according to The New Daily.
However, the agency has come under fire for its unchanged levels of glyphosate amid mounting calls for Australian regulators to review the chemical’s use and potential carcinogenic effects on people.
Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world with more than 6 billion kilograms applied over the last decade.
In a recent landmark case, a US couple was awarded $2 billion in damages when a California jury found that their cancer was caused by exposure to RoundUp.
Public health academic Dr Bruce Armstrong, from the University of Sydney, said it was time for regulators to “get real” about glyphosate instead of “point-blank denying the evidence”.