Many cereals contain weedkiller - Experts urge farmers to avoid using Roundup

Professor Marvin Reid, a leading researcher in Jamaica, said he is very concerned that children may be exposed to illness as a result of their consumption of some products.

Some advocacy groups are raising concern that some breakfast cereals and snack bars may contain trace amounts of a chemical found in weedkillers. The chemical, glyphosate, is found in herbicides such as Roundup.

Reid told THE STAR that the high levels in the foods and cereals, as stated by the Environmental Working Group, may be as a result of farming and manufacturing practices.

"A lot of these industrial organisations use pesticide to prevent damage to their crops. What we can say, as a fact, is that the levels are higher than the agreed standards that it should be. It is on the basis that children are growing and when they grow, their cells are dividing, which makes them more susceptible to different forms of cancer," said Reid, director of the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit at The University of the West Indies, Mona.

Global entities such as the World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Administration have food standards that dictate acceptable levels of chemicals. Reid said that based on these standards, the levels of glysophate exceed the permitted limit in the foods consumed by both adults and children.

The US Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday reaffirmed its finding that glyphosate, the world's most popular herbicide, is not a cancer risk to users.

Reid, while noting that cancer can be caused by consuming any type of food and/or exposure to various chemicals, said that he would encourage farmers and manufacturers to reduce the use of products that contain glyphosate to be on the safe side.

CAN CAUSE CANCER

"There are many products or exposures that can cause cancer. Just being in the sun can cause cancer in some people. The way in which people can develop cancer is based on their own intrinsic make-up and their exposure to different chemicals. Certain exposures, whether through food, radiation or a set of activities, will encourage cancer at a higher rate," he said.

"There is some debate as to whether this substance causes cancer or not, but if you want to be on the safe side, it is best to encourage manufacturers and farmers to reduce the use of this chemical so that individuals may not be exposed to such a high level. I think that is a very prudent message that both manufacturers and consumers should pay attention to."

Dr Winston Dawes, CEO of Mahogany Health and Fitness in St Mary, said that products which contain glyphosate should be taken off the market until a decision has been made as to whether this chemical causes cancer.

"We should take precaution because sometimes the distributors say it (glyphosate) is safe around foods. Now it is found in foods and is found to not be benign as we were led to believe. Until there is definitive proof, we should take precautions and await results," he said.

A multi-agency technical working group has been established by Agriculture Minister Audley Shaw to investigate the concerns surrounding the use of the Roundup herbicide in Jamaica. Roundup is a brand name for one of about 12 herbicides used locally containing the chemical glyphosate. There have been reports that the chemical has the potential to cause cancer.