New Study: Harmful pesticides found in food made and sold by Kroger, Walmart, Costco and Albertsons

Contacts: Demarcus Andrews, Policy Advocate, demarcus@toxicfreenc.org. Veronica Aguilar, Community Mobilizer, veronica@toxicfreenc.org. Alexis Luckey, Executive Director, alexis@toxicfreenc.org.

Durham, NC– Testing released today found store and name brand foods produced and sold by the top four U.S. food retailers, Kroger (NYSE: KR), Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Costco (NYSE: COST) and Albertsons, purchased in 15 cities across the country–including Raleigh, North Carolina–contain residues of toxic pesticides linked to a range of serious health and environmental problems. The study was led by Friends of the Earth with participation from state allies across the country, including Toxic Free NC, based in Durham, North Carolina.

The report found that oat cereals, apples, applesauce, spinach and pinto beans at the retailers contained detectable amounts of glyphosate, organophosphates and neonicotinoids. The average level of glyphosate found in cereal samples (360 parts per billion) was more than twice the level set by scientists at Environmental Working Group for lifetime cancer risk for children. The average level of glyphosate found in pinto beans (509 ppb) was more than 4.5 times the benchmark.*

In North Carolina, samples were purchased from Costco and Kroger stores. Levels of glyphosate in oat cereal from Costco were 288 parts per billion, almost twice as high as EWG’s proposed health benchmark. Additionally, organophosphate pesticides were found on 100% of apples sampled, and neonicotinoids in 73% of applesauce samples.

“We’re concerned because these are showing up in high levels on food items that are commonly given to children, and research has linked these pesticides to neurodevelopmental delays and other harmful health impacts,” said Demarcus Andrews, Policy Advocate at Toxic Free NC. “We’re urging retailers like Kroger and Costco to lead the industry by addressing the prevalence of these pesticides in their supply chains, and eliminating toxic pesticides from our food and stores.”

“Toxic pesticides are showing up in what should be some of the healthiest and most affordable foods supermarkets sell,” said Kendra Klein, PhD, senior staff scientist at Friends of the Earth. “Children, farmworkers and rural communities are routinely exposed to multiple pesticides linked to cancer, learning disabilities and hormone disruption. This is unacceptable. We’re calling on food retailers to get toxic pesticides out of their supply chains and off store shelves and help make organic food available to all Americans.”

Findings of the food testing are significant because of the ubiquity of toxic pesticides found in many different types of non-organic foods children eat on a daily basis. Findings include:

• Glyphosate, a probable human carcinogen according to the World Health Organization’s cancer research agency, was found on 100% of oat cereal samples and 100% of pinto bean samples tested.
• Organophosphates, which are so toxic to children’s developing brains that scientists have called for a complete ban, were found in 100% of applesauce samples, 61% of whole apples and 25% of spinach samples, at levels ranging from 0 to 3.31 nmol/g.
• Neonicotinoids, which the European Union has banned due to robust science linking the chemicals to bee die-offs and which have been linked to endocrine disruption and autism spectrum disorder, were found in 80% of spinach and 73% of applesauce samples ranging from 0 to 0.14 nmol/g.

Brands tested by an independent laboratory included Great Value (Walmart), Kroger (Kroger), Signature Kitchens and Signature Select (Albertsons/Safeway).

Kroger, Walmart, Albertsons and Costco control over one third of all food and beverage sales in the United States. We are standing with more than 100 organizations  urging these companies and all food retailers to phase-out toxic pesticides in their supply chains and increase offerings of domestic organic foods, which are produced without these and many other toxic synthetic pesticides.  

In addition to pressuring retailers, we are calling on Congress to pass Rep. Velazquez’s bill H.R. 230 to ban the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos. The report details additional actions state and federal governments could take to eliminate the use of neonicotinoids, glyphosate and organophosphates, incentivize transition to organic production and direct public dollars to purchase certified organic food and beverages.

Friends of the Earth is releasing the report  Toxic Secret: Pesticides uncovered in store brand cereal, applesauce, beans and produce today with Toxic Free North Carolina and twelve other organizations from across the country.

* EWG determined that a one-in-a-million cancer risk would be posed by ingestion of 0.01 milligrams of glyphosate per day. To reach this maximum dose, one would have to eat a single 60-gram serving of oat cereal with a glyphosate level of 160 parts per billion (ppb) or a 90 gram serving of pinto beans with a glyphosate level of 110 ppb. The highest residue level from a cereal product sample (931 ppb, purchased from Walmart) would result in an estimated 58 µg/day glyphosate exposure, which is nearly six times greater than EWG’s health benchmark. The highest residue level from a pinto bean product sample (1,849 ppb, purchased from Albertson’s) would result in an estimated 168 µg/day glyphosate, which is nearly 17 times greater.

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The NC Pesticide Board met on January 8, 2019. The first part of the meeting focused on whether or not Allen Scarborough (a representative of the agricultural chemical industry) posed a potential “conflict of interest.” It was stated that he represents Bayer Crop Science, which mass produces many pesticides. With this, he could potentially pose a conflict of interest by serving on the NC Pesticide Board. Ultimately, the Board decided that even though Scarborough represents the industry they intend to regulate, his potential conflict of interest wasn’t great enough to prevent him from serving.

Next, Renee Woody (Environmental Programs Manager, NCDA) requested $60,000 for the Plastic Pesticide Container Recycling Program for 2019. This program provides funds for counties to continue and expand their plastic recycling programs. The program has proven to be an effective mechanism that encourages safe ways to recycle pesticides containers and create useful products such as agriculture drain pipe. While this is a great accomplishment, the program does have room for enhancement and expansion. Most notably, it was stated that only 35% of the containers purchased in NC are recycled through this program.

The final portion of the meeting was dedicated to settle agreements. The first two cases dealt with pesticide drift. In both cases, the defendant applied a pesticide that drifted onto a neighboring yard, killing the vegetation. The final two cases illustrated a broken system. More specifically, it was discovered that a small pesticide business was operating for the past two years without the proper licenses to do so. This case revealed the need for an improved system that effectively tracks and monitors expiration dates for pesticide licenses. The final case involved Southern Agriculture Insecticides, Inc. This company distributes pesticides, fertilizers and other agricultural products. They sold a Restricted Use Pesticide (RUP) to a non-commercial applicator. Details that were disclosed included that the applicator called the State Department of Agriculture to inform them of his recent purchase, and, that he may have purchased a product not allowed for residential use. Luckily, the consumer read the labeling on the product and made the right decision to call the NC Department of Agriculture. This case begs the question, “what happens if the consumer doesn’t make the call?” This illustrates the need for enhanced enforcement mechanisms, to allow only the individuals with the proper licenses the ability to purchase pesticides that are labeled for restricted use.

(Image: Earthjustice)

It’s been almost 20 years since an epidemiological study of farmworkers in California began providing staggering evidence of detrimental health impacts for children exposed to organophosphate pesticides in utero. The project, still underway, has shown longitudinal links between pesticide exposure and respiratory complications, developmental disorders, and lower IQs among farmworker children.

Now, in an effort to restrict how human studies like this are used in EPA’s regulatory rule-making, the Trump administration has labeled them “secret science” and claims that epidemiology is less valid than laboratory testing on animals.

Sound familiar? This was the same tactic used by the tobacco industry to hide evidence of harm to public health.

The administration’s proposal, “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science,” is another example of Orwellian new-speak. Do we need strengthened transparency in regulatory science? Yes. But not by divulging confidential personal data about study participants.

We need transparency around funding of Monsanto-backed research that obscures the clear links between cancer-causing pesticides like glyphosate and public health.

We need transparency in the lines of power that hold our regulatory process hostage at the expense of the health of children and pregnant women.

Epidemiology is valid peer-reviewed science that offers us evidence of the longitudinal and complex health impacts of pesticides in our environment. The real “secret science” is happening behind the doors of industry.

Yesterday, US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand proposed an amendment to the Senate version of the Farm Bill that would prohibit public schools from serving fruits and vegetables that contain ANY residue of chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate that can increase risk for cognitive and developmental delays in young children.

Nearly twenty years ago, chlorpyrifos was banned from household use, but it is still widely used as a pesticide. Although the proposal was voted down last night, we applaud Senator Gillibrand’s efforts to protect children’s health and eliminate exposure to this dangerous pesticide. We also applaud Costco’s recent decision to expand organic offerings and urge suppliers to phase out chlorpyrifos and neonicotinoid pesticides.

Tell your lawmakers! Tell your retailers! Everyone deserves safe food.