That after-work drink might not be quite as smooth as you think.
A new report says non-dangerous levels of glyphosate, a weed killing chemical commonly found in Monsanto’s Roundup, have been found in five wines and 14 popular beers.
The list, assembled by the public-interest advocacy group U.S. PIRG, includes several well-known brands, including Budweiser, Miller Lite, Coors Light, Guinness, Sutter Home, Beringer, New Belgium, and Samuel Adams.
U.S. PIRG notes that all of the results it found in the beers and wines tested were far below the EPA’s risk tolerances, but it said consumers should still be aware of what they’re putting into their bodies.
“No matter the efforts of brewers and vintners, we found that it is incredibly difficult to avoid the troubling reality that consumers will likely drink glyphosate at every happy hour and backyard barbeque around the country,” said U.S Kara Cook-Schultz, who authored the study.
The results weren’t limited to conventional brands either. Four of five organic brands that were tested came back to glyphosate levels. Levels of the weed killer U.S. PIRG found in the beer and wine varied widely by brand.
Wines
Sutter Home Merlot – 51.4 parts per billion
Beringer Estates Moscato – 42.6 parts per billion
Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon – 36.3 parts per billion
Inkarri Estates Malbec: Certified Organic – 5.3 parts per billion
Frey Organic Natural Wine Blend – 4.8 parts per billion
Beers
Tsingtao – 49.7 parts per billion
Coors Light- 31.1 parts per billion
Miller Lite – 29.8 parts per billion
Budweiser – 27.0 parts per billion
Corona Extra – 25.1 parts per billion
Heineken – 20.9 parts per billion
Guinness Draught – 20.3 parts per billion
Stella Artois – 18.7 parts per billion
Ace Perry Hard Cider – 14.5 parts per billion
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – 11.8 parts per billion
New Belgium Fat Tire – 11.2 parts per billion
Samuel Adams New England IPA – 11.0 parts per billion
Stella Artois Cidre – 9.1 parts per billion
Samuel Smith’s Organic Lager – 5.7 parts per billion
Peak Beer Organic IPA – 0 parts per billion
Many companies cited in the study questioned the accuracy of the report. And trade groups for both the beer and wine industries said even if the numbers were correct, the levels were still well below those that are considered remotely hazardous.
“An adult would have to drink more than 140 glasses of wine a day containing the highest glyphosate level measured just to reach the level that California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has identified as ‘No Significant Risk Level,’” a spokesperson for the Wine Institute told USA TODAY.
The weed killer has shown up in several other food products both in the U.S. and Canada in the past year, including Cheerios and Quaker Oats.
