An environmental advocacy group is out with a new report detecting the herbicide glyphosate in popular brands of hummus.
In a report released July 14, the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG) identified glyphosate at detectable levels in 80% of non-organic or conventional hummus.
The EWG tested several brands and varieties of hummus, including organic. Of the 27 conventional hummus brands tested, one-third exceeded the group's standard level of glyphosate, according to the report.
But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stance is that glyphosate does not pose any danger to humans. The EPA, in a January 2020 regulatory review of glyphosate, concluded that there are no risks of concern to human health when glyphosate is used according to the label and that it is not a carcinogen.
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a cancer agency of the World Health Organization (WHO) determined that glyphosate is "probably carcinogenic to humans." But the WHO, in 2016, clarified its stance on glyphosate stating that it is "unlikley to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans from exposure through the diet."
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, a popular brand developed by agrochemical giant Monsanto and now owned by Bayer. Roundup is the most widely used weed killer in the United States and has recently been linked to cancer.
There have been thousands of lawsuits filed by plaintiffs who claim glyphosate in Roundup caused them to develop cancer. In June, Bayer said it will pay out more than $10 billion to settle litigation involving Monsanto’s weed killer Roundup.
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Coming in at the top of the hummus study was Whole Foods Market's original, with the highest level at 2,379 parts per billion (ppb). Two samplings of Harris Teeter Fresh Foods Market (a grocery chain based in North Carolina) Traditional Artisan hummus were next with 1,618 and 1,290 parts per billion.
Sabra brand hummus followed with two samplings of its classic hummus as having 743 and 476 parts per billion.
More than 10 hummus samples, the EWG found, exceeded its benchmark for glyphosate.
A Whole Foods Market spokeswoman, in an emailed statement to the Free Press, said that products tested by the EWG are compliant with the EPA limits.
"Whole Foods Market requires that suppliers meet all applicable limits for glyphosate through effective raw material control programs that include appropriate testing,” the spokeswoman said.
EWG's recommended maximum concentration of glyphosate in ready-to-eat foods such as hummus is 160 parts per billion per four-tablespoon serving. That 160 parts per billion works out to 10 micrograms, the EWG daily exposure limit for glyphosate from all sources.
"If someone were to eat eight tablespoons of hummus per day, a chickpea-based spread with just 80 ppb would reach EWG's daily limit," the EWG said.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard for glyphosate in chickpeas is 5,000 parts per billion.
In an email statement to the Free Press Bayer said they stood by the limits set by the EPA.
"Regulatory authorities have strict rules when it comes to pesticide residues. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets daily exposure limits at least 100 times below levels shown to have no negative effect in safety studies. Even at the highest level reported in the hummus samples (2,379 ppb), an adult would have to eat 64 pounds of hummus every day for the rest of their life to reach the strict limits set by the EPA."
The EWG purchased products at major retailers such as Aldi, Costco, Giant, Harris Teeter, Target, Trader Joe's, Walmart and Whole Foods stores in Washington D.C., New York City and San Francisco.
The group also tested 12 samples of organic hummus, six brands of organic chickpeas. While most of those organic samples contained glyphosate the EWG found the levels were much lower than non-organic.
Though, by law, organic farmers cannot spray Roundup or other pesticides on crops. The EWG pointed out that the glyphosate detected on the organic samples "may be due to pesticide drift from conventional crop fields or contamination at processing and packaging facilities. "
Other products tested were dry and canned beans, dry lentils and garbanzo (chickpea) flour. Buying organic hummus and chickpeas are a better choice for consumers, Alexis Temkin, EWG's toxicologist said in a statement.
“EWG testing of both conventional and organic bean products for glyphosate helps increase the transparency in the marketplace and protect the integrity of the Department of Agriculture’s organic certification," Temkin said.”
Though the levels found in the products tested by the EWG were much lower than the EPA standard for glyphosate.
But the group is not recommending that you should stop eating hummus.
"Hummus and chickpeas, as well as other beans offer multiple nutritional benefits, and American should not stop eating them," the EWG says.
Based on its finding, the EWG said it showed a need for "a ban on pre-harvest uses of glyphosate, a much stricter EPA standard, and increased testing by the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration for this cancer-causing chemical in the American diet."
A previous study in 2018 by the EWG found popular breakfast foods and cereals to contain detectable amounts of glyphosate.
Contact food writer Susan Selasky: 313-222-6872 or sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.
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Small amounts of weed killer in popular hummus brands, study shows - Detroit Free Press
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