Unilever: Ben & Jerry’s launches organic product line after glyphosate finding

Recently, researchers have discovered glyphosate in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream samples from the US as well as the European countries Germany, France, UK and the Netherlands. Up to 1,23 nanogram glyphosate per milliliter were detected in 13 of 14 samples. Pointing to the regulatory limits of glyphosate in the US and the EU, Unilever declared that the glyphosate traces found are coming far below the boundary values and are therefore not alarming. According to researcher Gilles-Éric Séralini though, the regulatory limits are long overdue and overtaken. He argues that even if the amount of glyphosate is 10 times lower than the actual limit, a regular consumption of the herbicide can cause serious liver or kidney damages. Consequently, the amount of glyphosate detected in the ice cream probably constitutes a health risk for consumers.

After the detection of similar amounts of glyphosate in samples of its American and now also European ice creams, the company Ben & Jerry’s has announced to cut all ingredients from its products that are contaminated with the pesticide. In order to implement this change, the Unilever brand will stop purchasing ingredients made from crops dried by using glyphosate by 2020. Beyond that, Ben & Jerry’s is going to launch an organic product line in 2018.