A new study conducted by the consumer watchdog group U.S. PIRG found that many popular brands of wine and beer contain trace amounts of glyphosate, the main ingredient in the weed killer Roundup. The group tested 20 different brands of wine and beer and found the chemical in 19 of them. The compound was even present in organic brands.
Researchers found that Sutter Home Merlot had the highest level of glyphosate at 51 parts per billion (ppb). Corona, Miller Lite, and Budweiser each contained between 25 and 30 ppb and Guinness and Heineken each had about 20 ppb. Sam Adams and Stella Artois had trace amounts of the chemical while Peak Beer was the only brand tested that did not contain any glyphosate.
“We don’t think brewers are going out of their way to put this in their beer, but it’s getting in there because we use so much Roundup,” CoPIRG Director Danny Katz told KUSA-TV. “It’s ubiquitous, it’s everywhere. Roundup is one of the largest agrochemicals in our country.”
The amount of glyphosate found is well below the amount that could cause harm to humans, which is around 700 parts per billion. There is a debate over how dangerous glyphosate is. France recently banned Roundup Pro 360 over health concerns and California considers the chemical a "probable carcinogen."
Monsanto, the company that produces Roundup, claims that the product is safe and that the trace amounts found in food are not harmful.
"Assuming the greatest value reported, 51.4 ppb, is correct, a 125-pound adult would have to consume 308 gallons of wine per day, every day for life to reach the US Environmental Protection Agency's glyphosate exposure limit for humans," William Reeves, a toxicologist for Monsanto's parent company Bayer said. "To put 308 gallons into context, that would be more than a bottle of wine every minute, for life, without sleeping."
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