Recently the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) released a report stating they had tested and found glyphosate residues in dozens of oat-based products, and a 2nd EWG report looking specifically at children’s cereals. Many farmers spray the chemical on a crop to dry it out and get an earlier and more consistent harvest. The brands referenced in the EWG article had leveled up to 1,300 parts per billion (ppb), while the EWG child-protective health benchmark for daily exposure to glyphosate in food is 160 ppb.
“In the history of our company, we have never received so many concerned inquiries on a single subject as we have with glyphosate on oats,” says Hannah Barnstable, Founder and CEO of Seven Sundays.
“The use of glyphosate to desiccate grains, particularly oats, is not news to us, and historically our supplier approval program has always banned the use of this harmful pesticide. In light of the recent and significant increase in consumer awareness of the issue, we decided to take our process further. In September, we had our products voluntarily laboratory tested for glyphosate residues and no glyphosate was detected in our muesli,” she explains.
Brady Barnstable, Co-Founder and COO, came to the family business in 2013 with an extensive background in environmental science and sustainability. He adds: “The industrialized food system created over the last 50 years in the US makes it difficult to learn where and how our food is grown and processed. Through this glyphosate issue, we have learned that the care we have put into sourcing only the cleanest ingredients have been worthwhile. We are going to double down on ingredient transparency, starting with a routine glyphosate testing program. Hopefully, other companies will follow suit.”
Earlier this year, laboratory tests commissioned by US activists Environmental Working Group (EWG), revealed that glyphosate – the active herbicide in Roundup weedkiller used in commercialized agriculture all over the world – has been found in a raft of oat-based breakfast cereals and snack bars.
