US-based Ben & Jerry's said it will roll out glyphosate-free ice cream products following recent tests that revealed traces of a herbicide called glyphosate in several of its flavors.
The ice cream manufacturer said that it will no longer use ingredients made from crops that are dried chemically with glyphosate, a common weedkiller and also a drying agent used by farmers before harvest.
However, it will not be until 2020 that Ben & Jerry's will put an end to sourcing ingredients made with crops that were dried using glyphosate.
In 2015, the World Health Organization's cancer agency had classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic”.
As a second step, Ben & Jerry's will start sourcing organic dairy to make its ice cream products.
The company revealed plans to introduce an innovative, new product range to the market next year that will have a base mix sourced from 100% organic dairy.
Ben & Jerry's in a statement, said: “We were disappointed to learn that recent testing in the United States and Europe revealed trace levels of the commonly-used herbicide glyphosate in several of our flavors.
“Disappointed, but not totally surprised. Glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicides in agriculture and is everywhere – from mainstream food, to natural and organic food, and even rainwater--and that’s the issue.”
Ben & Jerry's to its defense, claims that the traces of glyphosate found across its ice cream products were considerably below safe levels as per all global food safety regulations.
The company further added that the lab which carried out the tests of its US and European Union flavors had told the New York Times that the glyphosate levels in Ben & Jerry's products “would seem totally irrelevant”.
