Report: Traces of key weed killer ingredient found in wine and beer
SAN FRANCISCO, California -- A report done by public-interest advocacy group U.S. PIRG found trace amounts of glyphosate in 19 of 20 brands of beer and wine that were tested.
Glyphosate is the key ingredient used in the popular weed killer Roundup and is listed as a probable human carcinogen, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a branch of the World Health Organization.
Some of the brands were Coors Light, Miller Lite, Budweiser, Corona, Heineken, Guinness, and Samuel Adams, but it should be noted the levels are below the Environmental Protection Agency's risk for beverages.
California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment told USA TODAY that a person would have to drink more than 140 glasses of wine a day to reach the level it identified as "No Significant Risk Level."
Here are the brands that were tested.
Meanwhile, a jury in federal court in San Francisco will decide whether Roundup caused a California man's cancer in a trial that started Monday that attorneys say could help determine the fate of hundreds of similar lawsuits.
Edwin Hardeman, 70, is the second plaintiff to go to trial of thousands around the country who claim agribusiness giant Monsanto's weed killer causes cancer.
Monsanto says studies have established that the active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, is safe.
"There is a mountain of evidence," Hardeman's attorney, Brent Wisner, said outside court. "This company needs to get straight and be honest with its customers and say, listen, there is evidence it's associated with cancer and let people make a choice about whether or not they use the product."
A San Francisco jury in August awarded another man $289 million after determining Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. A judge later slashed the award to $78 million, and Monsanto has appealed.
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