The CDC said the study, part of its National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, was intended to assess the nutritional health of American adults and children and get a clearer picture of how prevalent glyphosate is among the general population.

Of the 2,310 urine samples collected, about one-third came from children. The US health agency said that more than 87% of the children tested had detectable levels glyphosate in their urine. Food is the main route of exposure to glyphosate for children, it noted.

The federal agency also found that 80 % of the adults tested for the survey had detectable levels of the herbicide active ingredient in their urine.

Bayer is currently fighting lawsuits claiming  that the product it gained with its 2018 acquisition of Monsanto for its $63 million caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma in those who sprayed it on crops or home gardens.,

In response to the CDC’s survey, the German group stressed that small amounts of glyphosate would normally be detected in urine samples because the body rids itself of nonessential substances.

Bayer added that the amount of glyphosate detected per sample in the CDC study is below the EPA’s exposure safety threshold of .14 % and “well below levels that regulatory agencies established to protect human health.”

Nonetheless, a federal court has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take a closer look at glyphosate after giving it a clean bill of health through at least two presidential administrations.

After its hopes were dashed that the US Supreme Court would hear its case that Monsanto was not required to attach warning labels to the herbicide’s packaging, the German pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals giant has been forced to return to the bargaining tables with plaintiffs.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist