A comparative evaluation of dietary exposure to glyphosate resulting from recommended U.S. diets

Abstract

Since its commercial introduction in 1974, national and international regulatory agencies have consistently reported no human health concerns associated with the herbicide glyphosate when used according to label directions. However, in 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen. Despite IARC being the sole outlier in its conclusion, dietary exposure to glyphosate remains a health concern to some members of the public. While glyphosate residues have been detected in foods, it is unclear whether a specific eating pattern substantially contributes to glyphosate exposure. Therefore, dietary glyphosate intake was determined for three eating patterns recommended in the U.S. The 95th percentile of glyphosate ingestion at 2,000 calories/day for adults for the U.S.-Style, Mediterranean-Style, and Vegetarian eating patterns ranged from 38 to 960, 39 to 1100, and 39 to 880 μg/day, respectively. No significant differences were observed in glyphosate intake between the dietary styles, and the 95th percentile glyphosate intakes were well below the current U.S. EPA chronic oral reference dose (RfD) of 0.1 mg/kg/day. Our data demonstrate that ingestion of certain high residue foods, particularly grains and legumes, is a driver of total dietary glyphosate body burden regardless of dietary style.

Keywords: Dietary styles; Exposure assessment; Glyphosate; Pesticide residues; Risk assessment.