The association 60 million consumers has noted a significant presence of pesticides in sandwich breads, bagels or hot dog buns.
- No product exceeds the authorized limits but the association recalls the excessive use of pesticides.
- 60 million consumers found no trace of ethylene oxide (ETO), a food disinfectant, or mycotoxins, toxins produced by certain moulds.
- Almost all foods contain a large amount of salt and added sugars.
Sandwich bread, bagels, burgers… Industrial breads often display an interesting Nutri-score, oscillating between A and B. Behind this score, these foods would almost all contain a large amount of salt and added sugars. This is reported by the association 60 million consumers after analyzing 28 industrial bread references.
Endocrine disrupting potential
Most of the products studied by the association contain pesticide residues. However, she assures that none exceeds the authorized limits but complains of a “omnipresence” who “recalls once again the – too – wide use of pesticides”. Thus, the brand of sandwich bread Harry’sand in particular its American sandwich 7 cereals would present cypermethrin, a herbicide classified as an irritant and potential endocrine disruptor. This pesticide has also been found in the majority of hot dog buns and bagels with fillings.
“Among the other residues found in sandwich breads, our analyzes identified piperonyl butoxide, a synergist widely used in cereal crops. If its use, recognized without danger, makes it possible to reduce the use of active molecules, it nevertheless remains an undesirable substance. There are also two insecticides considered low risk for humans”, indicates 60 million consumers.
No ETO or mycotoxins
For the association, the presence of pesticides is not a surprise. Indeed, the basic ingredient of breads is wheat flour or other cereals, the cultivation of which, like the preservation of the seeds, requires pesticides. “We could therefore expect to find residues in the finished products.”, she notes.
On the other hand, 60 million consumers note that ethylene oxide (ETO), a food disinfectant, was not found in products containing sesame. A “good news” for the association while this product has been banned in Europe and at the heart of a health scandal for several months. No mycotoxins have been discovered in industrial breads, “toxins produced by certain molds and likely to cause various disorders (vomiting, anemia, even convulsions)”, explains 60 million consumers.
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