Switzerland detects traces of glyphosate in fields and edibles
In Switzerland, around 40 percent of foodstuffs contain measurable traces of the controversial weedkiller glyphosate. However, in small amounts that are below the legal limits. This is shown by the initial results of a federal investigation. Nevertheless, the Federal Office for the Environment would like to increase the limit value.
The Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) was commissioned to conduct an initial glyphosate study in 2016 following a postulate from the National Council. The results are to be published "in a few weeks" in the form of a report, as the office announced in early November.
However, the first conclusions of the food monitoring are already available on the FSVO website. This weekend, the "SonntagsBlick" drew attention to this. More than 230 food samples were tested for residues of the pesticide glyphosate, which is also used in Switzerland. Honey, wine, bread, potatoes and vegetables were examined.
Pasta and cereal flakes
The initial results showed that about 40 percent of foods contain measurable traces of glyphosate, the FSVO writes on its website. The highest concentrations were found in pasta, breakfast cereals and legumes, it said. However, the measured amounts of glyphosate were all below the legal limits.
Monitoring is not yet complete, but this initial assessment confirms that glyphosate residues in food do not pose a health risk, they add. To illustrate the harmlessness of consuming foods with traces of glyphosate, the authors use the example of pasta. This is the most highly contaminated food category. An adult person would have to consume 71 kilograms of the most contaminated sample per day to absorb the maximum acceptable daily dose of 30 milligrams, writes the FSVO. However, Swiss people consume an average of 10 kilograms of pasta per year, significantly less than should be consumed in a single day.
Carcinogenic according to WHO
Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide worldwide. In Switzerland, an estimated 300 tons are used per year. In 2015, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO) classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic" to humans. The EU food authorities EFSA and the EU chemicals agency ECHA, on the other hand, concluded that the available scientific evidence was insufficient for such a classification. Currently, the approval of glyphosate in the EU is under review. So far, there is no majority in favor of extending the authorization by
Federal agency wants to increase limit value
The Federal Office for the Environment wants to increase the limit value for glyphosate in streams, rivers and lakes by a factor of 3600. Currently, the limit is 0.1 micrograms per liter of water; in about five years, it may be 360. If that happens, Swiss farmers will be spraying many times more glyphosate into the landscape than they do today.
The Federal Council is against a ban on glyphosate in Switzerland. A glyphosate ban would be problematic for various reasons, the government wrote in its response to a motion by the Green parliamentary group published on Thursday. For many applications, the only alternative currently available is mechanical or thermal destruction, it said. These control methods require more energy and labor, according to sda.
Meanwhile, the popular initiative "For clean drinking water and healthy food" tries to stop these goals. In mid-October 2017, 10,000 signatures have been collected, which means that the initiative is successful for the time being.
