環境資訊中心外電;姜唯 翻譯;林大利 審校;稿源:ENS
美國環保組織「環境工作小組」(Environmental Working Group,EWG)近日針對市面上以兒童為行銷對象的燕麥及其他穀類品進行第二次委外檢驗。結果發現,所有樣品中都檢出孟山都除草劑年年春(Roundup)中的活性成分嘉磷塞(glyphosate)。
幾乎所有EWG測試的燕麥樣品都含有嘉磷塞殘留物。圖片來源:madgerly(CC BY 2.0)
燕麥中嘉磷塞含量 法定標準落後科研
世界衛生組織「國際癌症研究機構」(IARC)和多位加州科學家均認為嘉磷塞和癌症有關。然而,美國環保署的燕麥中嘉磷塞法定上限仍停留在2008年的30ppm,遠早於IARC和加州科學家癌症研究結果出爐的時間。
EWG 25日發表的第二輪檢驗結果顯示,用一般農法種植的燕麥產品樣本,總計28件,每件都含有嘉磷塞。其中26件樣本的嘉磷塞含量高於EWG的安全基準,160ppb。
EWG於8月發表的第一輪檢驗結果就發現,嘉磷塞是美國用量最多的農藥,3/4的樣本含有達有害人體健康程度的嘉磷塞。16件有機燕麥樣本中,也有近1/3含有嘉磷塞,不過含量均低於EWG的安全基準。
知名早餐麥片 美國東岸、西岸超市都檢出農藥殘留
EWG科學家在舊金山灣區和華盛頓特區的雜貨店購買產品。取每件約300克的樣品包裝運送到舊金山的實驗室「Anresco」進行檢驗。
第二輪檢驗包含了百事可樂公司出產的10種不同口味的「Cheerios」通用磨坊穀物麥片和18種不同桂格產品,包括即食燕麥片、早餐麥片和點心棒。嘉磷塞含量最高的是「桂格燕麥方脆」,2837ppb,比EWG的兒童安全基準高出近18倍。
嘉磷塞含量最高的是「桂格燕麥方脆」,2837ppb,比EWG的兒童安全基準高出近18倍。圖片來源:brownpau(CC BY 2.0)
檢驗結果與桂格和通用磨坊兩家公司的說法自相矛盾,後者表示沒有理由擔心。他們聲稱自家產品符合法定標準。
EWG說,合法並不等於安全,「聯邦政府對食品的農藥含量標準往往過時,並非總是依最佳和最新的科學研究結果所訂定。美國環保署的農藥和其他化學品標準也嚴重受到工業團體遊說的影響。」
幾乎所有EWG測試的樣品都含有嘉磷塞殘留物,含量高於EWG科學家認為足以確保兒童健康、並具有足夠安全範圍的水準。
廠商:殘留量合法 環團:少量食用會累積
在EWG的檢驗結果發表前,一份刊登於《美國內科學醫學會期刊》(JAMA Internal Medicine)的重要研究就指出,吃較多有機食品的人罹患癌症的風險顯著降低。美國內科學醫學會期刊是美國醫學會發行的同儕審核月刊。
在第一輪結果發表後,通用磨坊和桂格開始採取防禦措施,並指出其食品中的嘉磷塞含量均在環保局規定的範圍內。
EWG認為與癌症有關的化學物質不該出現在兒童食品內。該組織建議食物中嘉磷塞每日最大攝入量為0.01毫克。對於一份60克的食物,每日攝入量限制為160 ppb。這個安全基準是用終生暴露的風險計算出來的。假如一個人每天吃含有嘉磷塞的食物,少量重複暴露也會累積。
美國食品和藥物管理局(FDA)也有檢驗玉米和大豆的嘉磷塞含量,但卻是在檢驗後一年多才在上個月對外公布結果——大約2/3的玉米和大豆樣品檢出嘉磷塞。
嘉磷塞是燕麥和小麥收穫前使用的乾燥劑,但FDA沒有檢驗任何燕麥或小麥。
Roundup for Breakfast: Weed Killer in Popular Cereals WASHINGTON, DC, October 25, 2018 (ENS)
A second round of tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group, EWG, has found glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer, in every sample of popular oat-based cereal and other oat-based foods marketed to children.
Glyphosate is an herbicide linked to cancer by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, IARC, and also by California state scientists.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s legal limit for glyphosate on oats, 30 parts per million, was set in 2008, well before the cancer findings of the IARC and California state scientists.
The results of EWG’s second round of tests, released today, showed glyphosate in all 28 samples of products made with conventionally grown oats. All but two of the 28 samples had levels of glyphosate above EWG’s health benchmark of 160 parts per billion, ppb.
The results of EWG’s first round of tests, published in August, also found glyphosate, the most heavily used pesticide in the United States, in three-fourths of the samples at levels that are dangerous to human health, according to the nonprofit group based in Washington, DC.
About one-third of 16 samples made with organically grown oats also contained glyphosate, all at levels well below EWG’s health benchmark.
EWG scientists purchased products in grocery stores in the San Francisco Bay area and Washington, DC, area. About 300 grams of each product were packaged and shipped for testing to Anresco Laboratories in San Francisco.
In the second round, Anresco conducted tests on 10 samples of different types of General Mills’ Cheerios and 18 samples of different Quaker brand products from PepsiCo, including instant oatmeal, breakfast cereal and snack bars.
The highest level of glyphosate found by the lab was 2,837 parts per billion in Quaker Oatmeal Squares breakfast cereal, nearly 18 times higher than EWG’s children’s health benchmark.
These test results contradict claims by two companies that make the cereal products, Quaker and General Mills, which have said there is no reason for concern. They claim this is because their products meet the legal standards.
But just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s safe, says EWG. “Federal government standards for pesticides in food are often outdated, not based on the best and most current science. The EPA’s standards for pesticides and other chemicals are also heavily influenced by lobbying from industry,” the group said.
Almost all of the samples tested by EWG had residues of glyphosate at levels higher than what EWG scientists consider protective of children’s health with an adequate margin of safety.
The EWG’s findings of glyphosate in many popular breakfast foods, come immediately after a major study published in “JAMA Internal Medicine,” a peer-reviewed medical journal published monthly by the American Medical Association that found a significant reduction in cancer risk for individuals who ate a lot of organic food.
Following release of the first batch of tests, General Mills and the Quaker Oats Company went on the defensive, noting that glyphosate levels found in their foods were within regulatory limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
EWG does not believe chemicals linked to cancer belong in children’s food. Our recommended maximum daily intake of glyphosate in food is 0.01 milligrams. For a 60-gram portion of food, this daily intake limit translates to a safety standard of 160 ppb of glyphosate. This health benchmark is based on the risks of lifetime exposure, because small, repeated exposures can add up if someone eats food containing glyphosate every day.
After sitting on data from its own glyphosate tests for more than a year, the Food and Drug Administration finally made the results public last month. The FDA found glyphosate on about two-thirds of corn and soybean samples. But it did not test any oats or wheat, the two main crops on which glyphosate is used as a pre-harvest drying agent.
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