A new study conducted by Environmental Defence and the Coalition for Action on Toxics has discovered that there are traces of pesticides in a number of popular and common Canadian foods.
The pesticide in question is called Glysophate and is an active ingredient in a household weed killer. The pesticide has been labelled a “probable carcinogen” by the World Health Organization.
The World Health Organization discovered through research that “glyphosate has been shown to contribute to non-Hodgskin’s lymphoma” which is an aggressive type of blood cancer that usually results in death.
According to the study the following items all contained trace amounts of glyphosate:
- PC Blue Menu 100% Whole Grain Tortillas
- Cheerios Cereal
- Catelli Healthy Harvest Multigrain Spaghetti
- The Original Orea Cookie
- Unico Chickpeas
- Fontaine Sante Roasted Garlic Hummus
- Kellogs Froot Loops Cereal
- Kraft Dinner Original Mac & Cheese
- Pogo Original
- Quaker Large Flake Oats
- Ritz Original Crackers
- Sabra Classic Hummus
- Tim Hortons Chocolate Glazed Timbits
- Tim Hortons Sesame Seed Bagels
The results of the study are troubling as many Canadians have enjoyed at least one product on the list above. It wouldn’t be a surprise to discover that some Canadians have multiple items from the list every week. The results revealed that some items, most commonly the grain products “were found to contain [glyphosate] levels above Health Canada’s ‘safe’ limits.”
The Environment Defence commented that it’s “disconcerting that a harmful pesticide is consistently showing up in food products that most children eat daily.” The statement concluded that exposure to the pesticide “… adds up.”