Glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid are not detectable in human milk

Abstract

Background: Although animal studies have shown that exposure to glyphosate (a commonly used herbicide) does not result in glyphosate bioaccumulation in tissues, to our knowledge there are no published data on whether it is detectable in human milk and therefore consumed by breastfed infants. Objective: We sought to determine whether glyphosate and its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) could be detected in milk and urine produced by lactating women and, if so, to quantify typical consumption by breastfed infants. Design: We collected milk (n = 41) and urine (n = 40) samples from healthy lactating women living in and around Moscow, Idaho and Pullman, Washington. Milk and urine samples were analyzed for glyphosate and AMPA with the use of highly sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry methods validated for and optimized to each sample matrix. Results: Our milk assay, which was sensitive down to 1 mg/L for both analytes, detected neither glyphosate nor AMPA in any milk sample. Mean 6 SD glyphosate and AMPA concentrations in urine were 0.28 6 0.38 and 0.30 6 0.33 mg/L, respectively. Because of the complex nature of milk matrixes, these samples required more dilution before analysis than did urine, thus decreasing the sensitivity of the assay in milk compared with urine. No difference was found in urine glyphosate and AMPA concentrations between subjects consuming organic compared with conventionally grown foods or between women living on or near a farm/ranch and those living in an urban or suburban nonfarming area. Conclusions: Our data provide evidence that glyphosate and AMPA are not detectable in milk produced by women living in this region of the US Pacific Northwest. By extension, our results therefore suggest that dietary glyphosate exposure is not a health concern for breastfed infants. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02670278.Am J Clin Nutr 2016;103:1285-90.

A Systematic Review of Organic Versus Conventional Food Consumption: Is There a Measurable Benefit on Human Health?

“…No difference was seen in trans fatty acid content within the same cohort [60]. An American study examining milk and urine samples of lactating women for glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) did not find any evidence of these chemicals in the breast milk of conventional or organic food consumers [66].…”

“…Several of the identified studies provided cross-section data only. These include comparisons of organic and conventional diets on sperm quality/content [50,51]; breast milk composition [66]; and urinary pesticide excretion [32,33].…”

Re-registration Challenges of Glyphosate in the European Union

“…Glyphosate residues were detected in honey and soy sauce (Rubio et al, 2014), in produce (Bøhn et al, 2014), processed food products, even in human specimens (blood, urine, mother's milk) (Knudsen et al, 2017;Rendón-von Osten and Dzul-Caamal, 2017). It should be noted, however, that measurements of glyphosate in complex biological matrices e.g., blood and breast milk, that led to positive scores used ELISA methods of questionable accuracy, and instrumental analysis by LC-MS/MS did not find glyphosate above its limit of detection in human breast milk (McGuire et al, 2016;Steinborn et al, 2016). As a result of its expanding release into the environment, increased residue levels have been detected in crops, 0.3-5.2 mg/kg glyphosate, 0.3-5.7 mg/kg AMPA (Arregui et al, 2004).…”

Glyphosate and AMPA levels in human urine samples and their correlation with food consumption: results of the cross-sectional KarMeN study in Germany

“…With regard to studies from additional countries dealing with human exposure to glyphosate, we refer to the current review of Gillezeau et al (2019). This review listed three studies investigating the association between glyphosate/AMPA exposure and food consumption or dietary pattern in the general population (no occupational exposure) (Knudsen et al 2017;McGuire et al 2016;Parvez et al 2018). The number of participants in these three studies was between 27 and 71, and one of the studies (McGuire et al 2016) only examined the differences in urinary glyphosate and AMPA concentrations between subjects consuming organic and conventionally grown food.…”

“…This review listed three studies investigating the association between glyphosate/AMPA exposure and food consumption or dietary pattern in the general population (no occupational exposure) (Knudsen et al 2017;McGuire et al 2016;Parvez et al 2018). The number of participants in these three studies was between 27 and 71, and one of the studies (McGuire et al 2016) only examined the differences in urinary glyphosate and AMPA concentrations between subjects consuming organic and conventionally grown food. Thus, urinary glyphosate/AMPA measurements in a well-characterized study population with available data regarding food consumption are lacking.…”