What about residues of Glyphosate in food?
Strict guidelines and rules including safety assessments are set by the regulatory authorities worldwide (e.g. U.S. EPA or EFSA), to ensure that residues of crop protection substances in food are as low as possible, and in any case much lower than any level of concern. Daily exposure limits must be at least 100 times below levels shown to have no negative effect in safety studies.
The levels sometimes found in food are incredibly small and nowhere near a level of concern. EFSA stated in its Review of the existing maximum residue levels for glyphosate: ”[…] no concern for consumers is identified, also highlighting the uncertainties due to missing data.”. Furthermore, FAO and WHO concluded that exposure to glyphosate residues is unlikely to present health concerns for consumers.
Finally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded “levels of pesticide residues in the U.S. food supply are well below established safety standards” based on the results of its annual residue testing program (2018). The FDA was clear that the glyphosate levels “were below the tolerance levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
References
- Reference dose RFD description and use health risk assessment [Retrieved February 12, 2019]
- EU Pesticides Database [Retrieved February 12, 2019]
- FAO/WHO Pesticide Residues in Food 2016
- FDA in Brief [Retrieved February 12, 2019]
- https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/5862 [Retrieved March, 17, 2020)