***Press Release ***

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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