Beware Of Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream
Curling up on the sofa with a tub of Ben and Jerry’s is the ideal night for many.
However, you could be doing more than just piling on the calories with the ice cream, after tests revealed traces of the weedkiller glyphosate in some of the makes.
The chemical, better known under the brand name Roundup, is widely used on food crops around the world.
According to the Daily Mail, a test of 14 samples found that 12 brought from across Europe contained glyphosate.
Three of the samples were brought in the UK and were from Half Baked cookie dough and chocolate ice cream, Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Fudge Brownie.
Contamination is thought to have come from the ingredients, such as wheat in cookie dough, used to flavour the ice cream.
The levels were very low and well below the levels set by food safety authorities in the US and Europe.
However glyphosate is at the centre of controversy around the world with some studies suggesting it is a cancer risk.
The UK samples of the ice cream were collected by the campaigning group Beyond GM, which is critical of GM farming.
Its director, Pat Thomas, said:”The industrial food system is failing us all and people are frankly sick of having the word ‘food’ associated with words like ‘risk’, ‘scare’, ‘poison’, ‘fraud’ and ‘contamination’.
“‘Big companies like Ben & Jerrys have a big responsibility that extends beyond marketing jargon. We’d like to see Ben & Jerry’s switch to an organic supply chain which would ensure the safety and integrity of the products they produce.”
Unilever told the Mail: “The bottom line is that our products are safe to eat and the trace levels of glyphosate detected were significantly below all allowable US and European standards.”
It said that, currently, the glyphosate is sprayed on crops, such as wheat and corn, before harvest as a drying agent.
However, the firm said it plans to phase out the use of any crops produced with glyphosate as a drying agent by 2020. It also promised to lobby for other firms to do the same.
Curling up on the sofa with a tub of Ben and Jerry’s is the ideal night for many.
However, you could be doing more than just piling on the calories with the ice cream, after tests revealed traces of the weedkiller glyphosate in some of the makes.
The chemical, better known under the brand name Roundup, is widely used on food crops around the world.
According to the Daily Mail, a test of 14 samples found that 12 brought from across Europe contained glyphosate.
Three of the samples were brought in the UK and were from Half Baked cookie dough and chocolate ice cream, Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Fudge Brownie.
Contamination is thought to have come from the ingredients, such as wheat in cookie dough, used to flavour the ice cream.
The levels were very low and well below the levels set by food safety authorities in the US and Europe.
However glyphosate is at the centre of controversy around the world with some studies suggesting it is a cancer risk.
The UK samples of the ice cream were collected by the campaigning group Beyond GM, which is critical of GM farming.
Its director, Pat Thomas, said:”The industrial food system is failing us all and people are frankly sick of having the word ‘food’ associated with words like ‘risk’, ‘scare’, ‘poison’, ‘fraud’ and ‘contamination’.
“‘Big companies like Ben & Jerrys have a big responsibility that extends beyond marketing jargon. We’d like to see Ben & Jerry’s switch to an organic supply chain which would ensure the safety and integrity of the products they produce.”
Unilever told the Mail: “The bottom line is that our products are safe to eat and the trace levels of glyphosate detected were significantly below all allowable US and European standards.”
It said that, currently, the glyphosate is sprayed on crops, such as wheat and corn, before harvest as a drying agent.
However, the firm said it plans to phase out the use of any crops produced with glyphosate as a drying agent by 2020. It also promised to lobby for other firms to do the same.
The Crop Protection Association, which speaks for Monsanto and other chemical companies, insist glyphosate is safe.
It said: “Glyphosate is amongst the most thoroughly tested herbicides on the market, and those studies by expert regulators have consistently concluded that glyphosate does not pose a risk to public health.
“Glyphosate is a crucial tool in a farmers’ armoury. To put things in perspective, glyphosate is less toxic than baking soda, table salt, the caffeine in our coffee and many other products we all use or consume regularly.”