Traces of Roundup Found in Canadians’ Food, Tap Water, Blood and Urine Samples: Health Dept.

Roundup weed killer is shown on May 14, 2019 in Chicago, Ill. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Traces of a popular weed killer have been found in the food and tap water of Canadians as well as in their blood and urine samples, according to a Department of Health briefing note.

While Canadian Food Inspection Agency inspectors deemed the levels of glyphosate found to be safe, the document presented to cabinet came just two weeks after the Ontario Superior Court certified a class action lawsuit against the makers of the herbicide, better known as Roundup.

“The Canadian government takes pesticide safety very seriously,” said the briefing note, which was first obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter. It noted that there was no evidence glyphosate posed a risk to human health at current levels of exposure.

Recent testing by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency of glyphosate in food found levels to be “compliant with the maximum residue limits allowed to be in or on food,” the health department wrote. “The limits for each pesticide crop combination are set at levels well below the amount that could pose a health concern.”

Health Canada also assessed the potential human health risk of glyphosate from drinking water and found it not to be “of concern.” It added that the “low level” of the herbicide detected in blood and urine samples of Canadians “has not identified any health concerns.”

Glyphosate has been federally licensed in Canada for 48 years with annual sales totalling roughly 25 million kilograms, according to industry estimates.

According to Health Canada, exposure to glyphosate can occur by eating foods or drinking water that contain small amounts of pesticide residue, but it can also occur from skin contact with treated surfaces. Handling the pesticide or inhaling spray drift also elevates exposure levels.

The Dec. 21 memo said maximum residue limits used to prescribe current trace levels as safe are currently under review. “Maximum residue limits will only be increased if Health Canada scientists determine the proposed increase is safe,” wrote the department. “No decision on glyphosate will be released before 2024.”

Glyphosate was last evaluated by the government in 2017 when it underwent a “full, in-depth scientific re-evaluation” by Health Canada. The review focused on risks to human health and the environment.

The final re-evaluation decision granted “continued registration of products containing glyphosate with requirements for additional updates to product labels to ensure appropriate use that protects human health and the environment.”

Class Action

The note was presented to cabinet the same month that the Ontario Superior Court certified a class action lawsuit against Monsanto Canada claiming damages from the legal sale of glyphosate.

The lawsuit, which alleges Roundup products cause non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, was launched in 2019 and was officially certified on Dec. 11. Toronto-based law firm Koskie Minsky LLP is representing the plaintiffs with cancer survivor Jeffrey DeBlock acting as the face of the case.

In certifying the lawsuit as a class action, Judge A.D. Grace said in his reasoning that a class proceeding would provide “easier access to justice” adding that “it is bound to be more economical than the pursuit of multiple individual claims.”

“Lawsuits of this kind are not for the faint of heart. As is clear from the experience in the United States so far, glyphosate litigation has been hard fought,” he wrote in his decision.

Similar claims in the U.S. saw the manufacturer in 2020 agree to pay roughly US$10 billion in settlements. More than 80 percent of the Roundup lawsuits, in excess of 100,00 cases, have been settled, according to TorHoerman Law, the firm representing the plaintiffs. The agreement also includes $1.25 billion for future claims.