Appeal for weed killer tests to be published
Environmental organisation Friends of the Earth has called on the Government to publish the results of tests for the presence of weed killer contamination in food samples. Last week the NGO published a study showing that nine out of 10 urine samples...
Environmental organisation Friends of the Earth has called on the Government to publish the results of tests for the presence of weed killer contamination in food samples.
The Friends of the Earth report should be studied to establish the origin of the substance
Last week the NGO published a study showing that nine out of 10 urine samples from people in Malta contained traces of the weed killer glyphosate.
This meant the Maltese sample marked a 90 per cent presence of glyphosate, compared to the EU average of 45 per cent.
The Government had reacted by saying it took all necessary measures to ensure that all agricultural products were safe for consumers.
“One should advise the public that during regular annual testing carried out on food of plant and animal origin since 2010, no traces of glyphosate have been found in the samples analysed,” the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority said, adding that samples were sent to accreditedlaboratories overseas.
The authority also questioned the FOE report’s method of elevating the samples and testing them but said the report deserved to be looked into.
“The Friends of the Earth report should be studied to establish the origin of the substance found in the samples, whether there is any risk to public health which may come from products containing glyphosate and take any actions necessary to ensure public health,” the authority said.
FOE said that its tests followed a standard scientific methodology and samples were sent to “a reputable lab in Germany” together with other samples from 17 other European countries. The technical report was available on request.
It pointed out that there was little testing done for glyphosate so far in Europe.
“The main aim of this investigation was to test whether this herbicide has made it into our bodies. The result is a yes. What’s even more worrying is that the Maltese sample of positives was higher than anywhere else. We’re not in a position to speculate about the source, but it sure does raise questions,” FOE said.