Picchi, 2019
Aimee Pichhi, “Cheerios, Nature Valley cereals contain Roundup ingredient, study finds,” CBS News, June 13, 2019.
SUMMARY:
CBS This Morning coverage of the EWG report on glyphosate residues in cereals. Full Video
Bibliography Tag: dietary risk
Wang et al., 2018
Wang, M., Zhou, X., Zang, X., Pang, Y., Chang, Q., Wang, C., & Wang, Z., “Determination of pesticides residues in vegetable and fruit samples by solid-phase microextraction with a covalent organic framework as the fiber coating coupled with gas chromatography and electron capture detection,” Journal of Separation Science, 2018, 41(21), 4038-4046. DOI: 10.1002/jssc.201800644.
ABSTRACT:
In this study, a covalent organic framework designated as TpPaNO2 was synthesized by a mechanochemical grinding method and then coated on stainless steel wire by a sol-gel technique to prepare a solid-phase microextraction fiber. The TpPaNO2 fiber based solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-electron capture detection was applied to determine the residues of 11 pesticides (trlfuralln, dicofol, alpha-endosulfan, 1-chloro-4-[2,2-dichloro-1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethenyl]benzene, nitrofen, beta-endosulfan, 1-chloro-4-[2,2-dichloro-1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethyl]benzene, 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane, bifenthrin, permethrin and fenvalerate) in vegetable and fruit samples. The effects of extraction time, extraction temperature, sample pH, stirring rate and desorption temperature on the extraction efficiency were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, the limits of detection for the eleven pesticides were in the range of 0.04-0.25 mug/kg. The recoveries of the eleven pesticides in the vegetable and fruit samples were 81.5-111% with the relative standard deviations less than 11.2%.
Owagboriaye et al., 2017
Owagboriaye, Folarin O., Dedeke, Gabriel A., Ademolu, Kehinde O., Olujimi, Olarenwaju O., Ashidi, Joseph S., & Adeyinka, Aladesida A., “Reproductive toxicity of Roundup herbicide exposure in male albino rat,” Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology, 2017, 69(7), 461-468. DOI: 10.1016/j.etp.2017.04.007.
ABSTRACT:
The incidence of infertility in human is on the increase and the use of Roundup herbicide and presence of its residues in foodstuff is a major concern. This study therefore aim to assess the effect of Roundup on the reproductive capacity of 32 adult male albino rats randomized into 4 groups of 8 rats per group orally exposed to Roundup at 3.6mg/kg body weight(bw), 50.4mg/kgbw and 248.4mg/kgbw of glyphosate concentrations for 12 weeks while the control group was given distilled water. Serum level of reproductive hormone (testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and prolactin), oxidative stress indices in the testicular tissue, epididymal sperm morphology assessment and testicular histopathology of the rats were used as a diagnostic marker of reproductive dysfunction. Significant (p<0.05) alterations in the level of all the reproductive hormones and oxidative stress markers assayed were observed in rats exposed to Roundup. Significant reductions (p<0.05) in sperm count, percentage motility and significant (p<0.05) increased in abnormal sperm cells were observed in the exposed rats. Histopathologically, severe degenerative testicular architectural lesions were seen in the Roundup exposed rats. Roundup may interfere with spermatogenesis and impair fertility in male gonad.
Oates et al., 2014
Oates, Liza, Cohen, Marc, Braun, Lesley, Schembri, Adrian, & Taskova, Rilka, “Reduction in urinary organophosphate pesticide metabolites in adults after a week-long organic diet,” Environmental Research, 2014, 132, 105-111. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2014.03.021.
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND: Conventional food production commonly uses organophosphate (OP) pesticides, which can have negative health effects, while organic food is deemed healthier because it is produced without these pesticides. Studies suggest that organic food consumption may significantly reduce OP pesticide exposure in children who have relatively higher pesticide exposure than adults due to their different diets, body weight, behaviour and less efficient metabolism.
OBJECTIVES: A prospective, randomised, crossover study was conducted to determine if an organic food diet reduces organophosphate exposure in adults.
METHODS: Thirteen participants were randomly allocated to consume a diet of at least 80% organic or conventional food for 7 days and then crossed over to the alternate diet. Urinary levels of six dialkylphosphate metabolites were analysed in first-morning voids collected on day 8 of each phase using GC–MS/MS with detection limits of 0.11–0.51μg/L.
RESULTS: The mean total DAP results in the organic phase were 89% lower than in the conventional phase (M=0.032 [SD=0.038] and 0.294 [SD=0.435] respectively, p=0.013). For total dimethyl DAPs there was a 96% reduction (M=0.011 [SD=0.023] and 0.252 [SD=0.403] respectively, p=0.005). Mean total diethyl DAP levels in the organic phase were half those of the conventional phase (M=0.021 [SD=0.020] and 0.042 [SD=0.038] respectively), yet the wide variability and small sample size meant the difference was not statistically significant.
CONCLSUIONS: The consumption of an organic diet for one week significantly reduced OP pesticide exposure in adults. Larger scale studies in different populations are required to confirm these findings and investigate their clinical relevance.
Nougadère et al., 2012
Nougadère, Alexandre, Sirot, Véronique, Kadar, Ali, Fastier, Antony, Truchot, Eric, Vergnet, Claude, Hommet, Frédéric, Baylé, Joëlle, Gros, Philippe, & Leblanc, Jean-Charles, “Total diet study on pesticide residues in France: Levels in food as consumed and chronic dietary risk to consumers,” Environment International, 2012, 45, 135-150. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2012.02.001.
ABSTRACT:
Chronic dietary exposure to pesticide residues was assessed for the French population using a total diet study (TDS) to take into account realistic levels in foods as consumed at home (table-ready). Three hundred and twenty-five pesticides and their transformation products, grouped into 283 pesticides according to their residue definition, were sought in 1235 composite samples corresponding to 194 individual food items that cover 90% of the adult and child diet. To make up the composite samples, about 19,000 food products were bought during different seasons from 2007 to 2009 in 36 French cities and prepared according to the food preparation practices recorded in the individual and national consumption survey (INCA2). The results showed that 37% of the samples contained one or more residues. Seventy-three pesticides were detected and 55 quantified at levels ranging from 0.003 to 8.7mg/kg. The most frequently detected pesticides, identified as monitoring priorities in 2006, were the post-harvest insecticides pirimiphos-methyl and chlorpyrifos-methyl—particularly in wheat-based products—together with chlorpyrifos, iprodione, carbendazim and imazalil, mainly in fruit and fruit juices. Dietary intakes were estimated for each subject of INCA2 survey, under two contamination scenarios to handle left-censored data: lower-bound scenario (LB) where undetected results were set to zero, and upper-bound (UB) scenario where undetected results were set to the detection limit. For 90% of the pesticides, exposure levels were below the acceptable daily intake (ADI) under the two scenarios. Under the LB scenario, which tends to underestimate exposure levels, only dimethoate intakes exceeded the ADI for high level consumers of cherry (0.6% of children and 0.4% of adults). This pesticide, authorised in Europe, and its metabolite were detected in both cherries and endives. Under the UB scenario, that overestimates exposure, a chronic risk could not be excluded for nine other pesticides (dithiocarbamates, ethoprophos, carbofuran, diazinon, methamidophos, disulfoton, dieldrin, endrin and heptachlor). For these pesticides, more sensitive analyses of the main food contributors are needed in order to refine exposure assessment.
Bai and Ogbourne, 2016
Bai, S. H., & Ogbourne, S. M., “Glyphosate: environmental contamination, toxicity and potential risks to human health via food contamination,” Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2016, 23(19), 18988-19001. DOI: 10.1007/s11356-016-7425-3.
ABSTRACT:
Glyphosate has been the most widely used herbicide during the past three decades. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies glyphosate as ‘practically non-toxic and not an irritant’ under the acute toxicity classification system. This classification is based primarily on toxicity data and due to its unique mode of action via a biochemical pathway that only exists in a small number of organisms that utilise the shikimic acid pathway to produce amino acids, most of which are green plants. This classification is supported by the majority of scientific literature on the toxic effects of glyphosate. However, in 2005, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reported that glyphosate and its major metabolite, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), are of potential toxicological concern, mainly as a result of accumulation of residues in the food chain. The FAO further states that the dietary risk of glyphosate and AMPA is unlikely if the maximum daily intake of 1 mg kg(-1) body weight (bw) is not exceeded. Research has now established that glyphosate can persist in the environment, and therefore, assessments of the health risks associated with glyphosate are more complicated than suggested by acute toxicity data that relate primarily to accidental high-rate exposure. We have used recent literature to assess the possible risks associated with the presence of glyphosate residues in food and the environment. FULL TEXT
Milic et al., 2018
Milic, Mirta, Zunec, Suzana, Micek, Vedran, Kasuba, Vilena, Mikolic, Anja, Lovakovic, Blanka Tariba, Semren, Tanja Zivkovic, Pavicic, Ivan, Cermak, Ana Marija Marjanovic, Pizent, Alica, Vrdoljak, Ana Lucic, Valencia-Quintana, Rafael, Sanchez-Alarcon, Juana, & Zeljezic, Davor, “Oxidative stress, cholinesterase activity, and DNA damage in the liver, whole blood, and plasma of Wistar rats following a 28-day exposure to glyphosate,” Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology, 2018, 69(2), 154-168. DOI: 10.2478/aiht-2018-69-3114.
ABSTRACT:
In this 28 day-study, we evaluated the effects of herbicide glyphosate administered by gavage to Wistar rats at daily doses equivalent to 0.1 of the acceptable operator exposure level (AOEL), 0.5 of the consumer acceptable daily intake (ADI), 1.75 (corresponding to the chronic population-adjusted dose, cPAD), and 10 mg kg-1 body weight (bw) (corresponding to 100 times the AOEL). At the end of each treatment, the body and liver weights were measured and compared with their baseline values. DNA damage in leukocytes and liver tissue was estimated with the alkaline comet assay. Oxidative stress was evaluated using a battery of endpoints to establish lipid peroxidation via thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS) level, level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione (GSH) level, and the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). Total cholinesterase activity and the activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) were also measured. The exposed animals gained less weight than control. Treatment resulted in significantly higher primary DNA damage in the liver cells and leukocytes. Glyphosate exposure significantly lowered TBARS in the liver of the AOEL, ADI, and cPAD groups, and in plasma in the AOEL and cPAD group. AChE was inhibited with all treatments, but the AOEL and ADI groups significantly differed from control. Total ChE and plasma/liver ROS/GSH levels did not significantly differ from control, except for the 35 % decrease in ChE in the AOEL and ADI groups and a significant drop in liver GSH in the cPAD and 100xAOEL groups. AOEL and ADI blood GSH-Px activity dropped significantly, but in the liver it significantly increased in the ADI, cPAD, and 100xAOEL groups vs. control. All these findings show that even exposure to low glyphosate levels can have serious adverse effects and points to a need to change the approach to risk assessment of low-level chronic/sub-chronic glyphosate exposure, where oxidative stress is not necessarily related to the genetic damage and AChE inhibition. FULL TEXT
Mesnage et al., 2017
Mesnage, Robin, & Antoniou, Michael N, “Ignoring Adjuvant Toxicity Falsifies the Safety Profile of Commercial Pesticides,” Frontiers in Public Health, 2017, 5, 361. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2017.00361.
ABSTRACT:
Commercial formulations of pesticides are invariably not single ingredients. Instead they are cocktails of chemicals, composed of a designated pesticidal “active principle” and “other ingredients,” with the latter collectively also known as “adjuvants.” These include surfactants, antifoaming agents, dyes, etc. Some adjuvants are added to influence the absorption and stability of the active principle and thus promote its pesticidal action. Currently, the health risk assessment of pesticides in the European Union and in the United States focuses almost exclusively on the stated active principle. Nonetheless, adjuvants can also be toxic in their own right with numerous negative health effects having been reported in humans and on the environment. Despite the known toxicity of adjuvants, they are regulated differently from active principles, with their toxic effects being generally ignored. Adjuvants are not subject to an acceptable daily intake, and they are not included in the health risk assessment of dietary exposures to pesticide residues. Here, we illustrate this gap in risk assessment by reference to glyphosate, the most used pesticide active ingredient. We also investigate the case of neonicotinoid insecticides, which are strongly suspected to be involved in bee and bumblebee colony collapse disorder. Authors of studies sometimes use the name of the active principle (for example glyphosate) when they are testing a commercial formulation containing multiple (active principle plus adjuvant) ingredients. This results in confusion in the scientific literature and within regulatory circles and leads to a misrepresentation of the safety profile of commercial pesticides. Urgent action is needed to lift the veil on the presence of adjuvants in food and human bodily fluids, as well as in the environment (such as in air, water, and soil) and to characterize their toxicological properties. This must be accompanied by regulatory precautionary measures to protect the environment and general human population from some toxic adjuvants that are currently missing from risk assessments. FULL TEXT
Ferre et al., 2018
Ferre, D. M., Quero, A. A. M., Hernandez, A. F., Hynes, V., Tornello, M. J., Luders, C., & Gorla, N. B. M., “Potential risks of dietary exposure to chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin from their use in fruit/vegetable crops and beef cattle productions,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2018, 190(5), 292. DOI 10.1007/s10661-018-6647-x.
ABSTRACT:
The active ingredients (a.i.) used as pesticides vary across regions. Diet represents the main source of chronic exposure to these chemicals. The aim of this study was to look at the pesticides applied in fruit, vegetable, and beef cattle productions in Mendoza (Argentina), to identify those that were simultaneously used by the three production systems. Local individuals (n = 160), involved in these productions, were interviewed. Glyphosate was the a.i. most often used by fruit-vegetable producers, and ivermectin by beef cattle producers. Chlorpyrifos (CPF) and cypermethrin (CYP) were the only a.i. used by the three production systems. The survey revealed that CPF, CYP, alpha CYP, and CPF+CYP were used by 22, 16, 4, and 20% of the fruit and vegetable producers, respectively. Regarding beef cattle, CYP was used by 90% of producers, CYP + CPF formulation by 8%, and alpha CYP by 2%. The second approach of this study was to search the occurrence of CYP and CPF residues in food commodities analyzed under the National Plan for Residue Control (2012-2015). CYP residues found above the LOD were reported in 4.0% and CPF in 13.4% of the vegetable samples tested, as well as in 1.2 and 28.8%, respectively, of the fruit samples tested. Regarding beef cattle, CYP residues were reported in 2.3% and organophosphates (as a general pesticide class) in 13.5% of samples tested. In conclusion, consumers may be exposed simultaneously to CPF and CYP, from fruits, vegetables, and beef intake. Accordingly, the policy for pesticide residues in food and human risk assessment should account for the combined exposure to CPF and CYP. Moreover, appropriate toxicological studies of this mixture (including genotoxicity) are warranted.
Benbrook, 2019
Benbrook, Charles M., “How did the US EPA and IARC reach diametrically opposed conclusions on the genotoxicity of glyphosate-based herbicides?,” Environmental Sciences Europe, 2019, 31(1), DOI:10.1186/s12302-018-0184-7.
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND: The US EPA considers glyphosate as “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.” The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A).” EPA asserts that there is no convincing evidence that “glyphosate induces mutations in vivo via the oral route.” IARC concludes there is “strong evidence” that exposure to glyphosate is genotoxic through at least two mechanisms known to be associated with human carcinogens (DNA damage, oxidative stress). Why and how did EPA and IARC reach such different conclusions?
RESULTS: A total of 52 genotoxicity assays done by registrants were cited by the EPA in its 2016 evaluation of technical glyphosate, and another 52 assays appeared in the public literature. Of these, one regulatory assay (2%) and 35 published assays (67%) reported positive evidence of a genotoxic response. In the case of formulated, glyphosatebased herbicides (GBHs), 43 regulatory assays were cited by EPA, plus 65 assays published in peer-reviewed journals. Of these, none of the regulatory, and 49 published assays (75%) reported evidence of a genotoxic response following exposure to a GBH. IARC considered a total of 118 genotoxicity assays in six core tables on glyphosate technical, GBHs, and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), glyphosate’s primary metabolite. EPA’s analysis encompassed 51 of these 118 assays (43%). In addition, IARC analyzed another 81 assays exploring other possible genotoxic mechanisms (mostly related to sex hormones and oxidative stress), of which 62 (77%) reported positive results. IARC placed considerable weight on three positive GBH studies in exposed human populations, whereas EPA placed little or no weight on them.
CONCLUSIONS: EPA and IARC reached diametrically opposed conclusions on glyphosate genotoxicity for three primary reasons: (1) in the core tables compiled by EPA and IARC, the EPA relied mostly on registrant-commissioned, unpublished regulatory studies, 99% of which were negative, while IARC relied mostly on peer-reviewed studies of which 70% were positive (83 of 118); (2) EPA’s evaluation was largely based on data from studies on technical glyphosate, whereas IARC’s review placed heavy weight on the results of formulated GBH and AMPA assays; (3) EPA’s evaluation was focused on typical, general population dietary exposures assuming legal, food-crop uses, and did not take into account, nor address generally higher occupational exposures and risks. IARC’s assessment encompassed data from typical dietary, occupational, and elevated exposure scenarios. More research is needed on real-world exposures to the chemicals within formulated GBHs and the biological fate and consequences of such exposures. FULL TEXT