New Unilever Announcement Falls Short of Groups' Demand
BRUSSELS, Oct. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- EU and US organizations, led by US-based Organic Consumers Association (OCA), will confirm today at a press conference that samples of Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry's ice cream from France, Netherlands, Germany and the UK contained glyphosate, the primary ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide.
Glyphosate was detected in 12 of 14 samples, at levels as high as 1.228 ng/mL, according to John Fagan, chief scientist for HRI Labs, which conducted the tests.
Ronnie Cummins, OCA international director, said: "Ben & Jerry's announcement yesterday that it will source 6% organic dairy is positive news. But that leaves 94% of its supply coming from conventional dairies which use massive amounts of GMO animal feed. We will push for a transition to 100% organic, backed by a legally binding contract."
Speakers at the press conference will include EU Parliament Members Michelle Rivasi and Philippe Lamberts; Dr. Gilles-Eric Séralini, author of numerous studies on Roundup/glyphosate, Dr. John Fagan, chief scientist, HRI Labs; and Pat Thomas, founder/director, Beyond GM.
Commenting on the results, Séralini said: "Research indicates that levels of glyphosate in most samples likely pose a health risk. The regulatory levels set in the EU and US are based on outmoded toxicology models that fail to account for the properties of hormone disrupters like glyphosate-based herbicides, which can damage health at very low levels."
Prior to the conference, Rivasi said: "Based on the research of Séralini and others, Europe should immediately ban Roundup, and all uses of glyphosate in toxic formulations."
Thomas said: "Moving to a fully organic system is the only way to ensure a product is free from traces of endocrine-disrupting and carcinogenic glyphosate."
Beyond GM, Sustainable Pulse (Bulgaria), the Monsanto Tribunal (NL) and the Soil Association (UK) joined OCA in asking Ben & Jerry's to go 100% organic. 150 organizations and businesses signed a letter to Ben & Jerry's, asking the same.
Available: Certificates of Analysis, Statement of Relevance, Description of Analytical Method
Organic Consumers Association is a non-profit 501(c)3 public interest organization advocating on behalf of more than two million consumers. @OCA_Press.
