USA- According to ECOWatch.com*, General Mills is now facing a lawsuit related to the chemical glyphosate. Glyphosate is the controversial active ingredient in the weed killerRoundup. The product was manufactured by Monsanto, which was bought out by Bayer. Bayer is now defending against allegations that Roundup causes cancer. A recent lawsuit in California was […]
USA- According to ECOWatch.com*, General Mills is now facing a lawsuit related to the chemical glyphosate. Glyphosate is the controversial active ingredient in the weed killerRoundup. The product was manufactured by Monsanto, which was bought out by Bayer. Bayer is now defending against allegations that Roundup causes cancer. A recent lawsuit in California was decided in favor of the plaintiff, a groundskeeper who developed cancer after years of using the weed killer. Bayer was ordered to pay out $289 million in just that one case.
The case against General Mills alleged that the company failed to warn consumers about the presence of trace amounts of glyphosate in their products. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) conducted a study indicating that 470 to 530 parts per billion of the chemical could be found in Cheerios. The Environmental Protection Agency permits 30,000 ppb, but EWG’s health standards state that the limit should be 160 ppb.
The plaintiff, Mounira Doss, claims that had she known about the amount of glyphosate found in Cheerios, she never would have purchased the company’s cereals.
Glyphosate has been classified as a “probable human carcinogen” according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The lawsuit alleged that General Mills was aware of the presence of the controversial chemical but kept that information from the public.
General Mills was previously sued over the presence of glyphosate in Nature Valley granola bars. The company argues that its products meet the regulatory levels and that they are safe.
According to Reuters, there are around 8,000 glyphosate lawsuits pending against Bayer because of Roundup. Bayer has stated their intention to appeal the verdict decided against them in California and argued that their products are safe.
*https://www.ecowatch.com/general-mills-glyphosate-lawsuit-2598400768.html