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Food Herbicide Residues Set to Rise As Much As 150 Times
February 8, 2012 *Proposed new level already breached 100 times over
Monsanto has applied to increase the EU’s permitted Maximum Residue Level (MRL) for its best-selling herbicide glyphosate in lentils. Proposals before the EU would mean increasing the current legal residue level by 100-150 times. [1] The chemical is widely used on GM crops and elsewhere for weed control and to dry crops prior to harvest.
The current EU MRL for glyphosate in lentils is 0.1 mg/kg. The proposal aims to raise this level to 10 mg/kg, or even 15mg/kg. [1] Rather than being based exclusively on safety grounds, the proposed new MRL appears to be partly based on levels already likely to be found in lentils as a result of the weedkiller being used close to harvest.
The proposed new level was recently breached by a shipment of Canadian lentils for human consumption. The Czech Republic withdrew the cargo from the market when it discovered glyphosate residues exceeding both EU and Canadian MRLs (tested at 10.5 mg/kg [2], more than 100 times the EU MRL; the current Canadian MRL for lentils is 4 mg/kg [3]).
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