Herbicide-Contamination Sparks Recall of 3100 Boxes of Organic Panty Liners

Roundup is being found everywhere! Sadly, this includes in mother’s breast milk and in fetal tissue. Now, over 3000 boxes of ‘organic’ panty liners have been pulled from stores in France and Canada after Monsanto’s favorite herbicide was found in the cotton-based Organyc brand.

A French consumer magazine first reported that the panty liners contained traces of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup. The Italian manufacturer, Corman, then decided to conduct its own study on its tampons and panty liners. Corman’s testers found glyphosate in five of the 11 feminine hygiene products they analyzed for “residual traces of glyphosate.”

When the results came in, Corman stated that they were pulling 3100 boxes of product “as a precaution.”

The amounts found were indeed traces – about 25 nanograms per gram. But not even these amounts should be present in organic cotton. The manufacturer plans to investigate its suppliers, which are mainly in the U.S. and India. Both the U.S. and India plant large amounts of Monsanto’s genetically engineered Bt cotton.

A Corman spokesperson further stated that:

“We don’t think it is dangerous, it’s simply a precautionary measure, because our priority is the safety and health of our consumers.”

Perhaps they should be more concerned, though. Several agencies, including the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, have named glyphosate a probable human carcinogen.

Furthermore, although women would be exposed to only ‘trace’ amounts with each use, these would bioaccumulate over time, and with multiple uses.

The same report found that o.b. and Nett tampons made by Johnson & Johnson also contain glyphosate traces, as do Always sanitary pads and Tampax tampons made by Procter & Gamble. Johnson & Johnson was already in trouble, having been ordered to pay damages because of a link between its talcum powder and ovarian cancer.

Source:

The Guardian

Featured image credit: Photo: EFWP