Image Credit: JOSH EDELSON / Contributor / Getty Images 
Popular bread brands contain significantly elevated levels of the toxic weedkiller glyphosate, according to a new study by the Florida Department of Health.
The study, whose results were announced on Thursday, is part of a state-backed initiative called Healthy Florida First. The initiative, which focuses on testing popular products, has already revealed high levels of heavy metals in baby formula and candies.
The new study tested for a variety of herbicides, including glyphosate—the active ingredient in Roundup—in eight breads made by five brands: Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, Wonder Bread, Sara Lee, and Pepperidge Farm.
“Glyphosate is a weed killer. It’s the main ingredient you find in Roundup,” Florida’s first lady, Casey DeSantis, said at a news conference Thursday.
“It’s designed to kill plants. It is not meant to be eaten.”
“The labels on glyphosate-based pesticides clearly warn that the chemicals are harmful and must be kept out of reach of children,” she continued.
“They include emergency instructions for accidental exposure and make clear these products are not meant for people to touch, not meant for it to be in the food, and certainly not meant to be consumed.”
Studies have already linked glyphosate exposure to a wide variety of harms, including cancer, autism, obesity and reproductive issues. The maker of Roundup, Bayer, is facing tens of thousands of lawsuits, with payouts totalling billions of dollars, from people who claim to have had their health ruined by exposure to the chemical.
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who also spoke at the news conference, said glyphosate exposure “doesn’t seem to have a safe level.”
The Epoch Times reports, “Glyphosate levels were measured in parts per billion (ppb) in the Florida study.
Sara Lee’s honey wheat bread returned the highest detectable levels of the pesticide in the study, at 191.04 ppb. However, the brand’s artesano white bread had levels below the method detection limit, along with Pepperidge Farm’s farmhouse hearty white bread.
Nature’s Own butter bread had the second-highest level of glyphosate, at 190.23 ppb. The brand’s perfectly crafted white bread had 132.34 ppb.
Wonder Bread’s classic white bread returned a reading of 173.19 ppb.
Dave’s Killer Bread had two of its products tested, ‘white done right’ and 21 whole grain, which revealed glyphosate levels of 11.85 ppb and 10.38 ppb, respectively.”
The Florida Department of Health has vowed to continue testing popular food products, in order to protect and empower consumers to make better, healthier choices.
If you want to know more about glyphosate, read our detailed primer on the chemical here.
