As food has become increasingly
adulterated, contaminated and genetically engineered, the need for
laboratory testing has exponentially grown. John Fagan, president of
Health Research Institute Labs (HRI Labs), is an expert in this area. As
explained by Fagan, HRI Labs "makes the invisible, visible, giving you
the ability to see what is in your food and your environment."
Fagan studied biochemistry and molecular biology at Cornell University,
where he also got his Ph.D. After doing research for eight years at the
National Institutes of Health, he went into academia and conducted
cancer research using genetic engineering as a research tool. This
experience is ultimately what raised his concerns about genetic
engineering, especially as it pertains to food.
As a result, he created the first lab for GMO testing in the U.S.,
followed by labs in Europe and Japan. He's also trained laboratories in
17 other countries in GMO testing. "What this did was make GMOs visible.
Before that testing was there, nobody could tell whether those
soybeans, or that corn was genetically engineered or not," Fagan says.
"After GMO testing was available, people had a choice."
HRI Labs tests both micronutrients and toxins — the good and the bad.
"We feel that the kind of testing we're doing can open a window for you
in each of those areas, so you can make better choices about the food
you eat, and that you share with your family," he says.
There are several types of tests that can be done on a GMO food.
Antigens are one type of test. DNA testing is another. Since DNA is far
more stable than proteins, genetically engineered foods, even when
highly processed, can be easily identified with DNA testing. A test
commonly used to check DNA is the polymerase chain reaction or PCR test.
Because it amplifies the DNA signal, it can detect even a single
genetically engineered corn kernel in a bag containing 10,000 or more
corn kernels. The chromatograph linked to a mass spectrometer is another central
piece of equipment that HRI uses. It allows you to test for a wide
variety of things at very high sensitivity. Unfortunately, the cost and
complexity involved prevents many labs from having this tool.
"Liquid chromatography is capable of taking a sample of food … or
whatever you're interested in, and fractionating it into hundreds of
compounds, separating them out. That is then fed into a mass
spectrometer; a machine that measures, ultimately, molecular weight of
whatever it's looking at.
With that you can detect — at extremely low levels and identify very
specifically — almost any natural or unnatural compound … down to the
parts per trillion in many cases. To give you a sense of what that
means, 40 parts per trillion, which is [the limit of] detection that we
have for some materials, is like if you were to take a single drop of
that chemical and dilute it into 20 Olympic swimming pools full of
water.
That's the extent of dilution required to achieve 40 parts per
trillion. This is extreme sensitivity. These [instruments] are like the
Teslas of analytical chemistry.
[Liquid chromatography linked to a mass spectrometer] is what we use
for measuring glyphosate. Because these machines are very expensive,
many of the analytical labs out there don't have access to them. Also,
because it is very specialized equipment, you need somebody with a Ph.D.
in analytical chemistry, or equivalent, to do this kind of testing.
What we're doing is … unique in that way." One of the reasons we decided to collaborate with HRI Labs in testing our own supplements
is because many commercial laboratories used to confirm the purity of
raw materials tend to provide distorted or prejudicial information. One
of the great benefits of HRI Labs, in my view, is its objectivity and
ability to provide accurate data, thanks to the sensitivity of their
equipment. While many labs will claim to be independent, their primary
customers are big food companies.
"They don't want to embarrass [their customers]. They don't want to
bring anything to the surface on that level, so they tend to give very
superficial numbers," Fagan says. "Typically, they work to thresholds that are established based on politics and convenience, not science and safety.
For instance, you can go to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's
(FDA) website, or the U.S. Department of Agriculture's website and they
will say, 'Wheat should have less than such and such amount of
glyphosate in it.'
Glyphosate
is … the most commonly used agrochemical, and it's now been
demonstrated to cause cancer, liver and kidney damage and birth defects.
You'll find there a number for it, but if you go to the scientific
literature you discover that levels [of glyphosate] hundred or a
thousand times lower … are in fact toxic to the system. For that reason,
those government established thresholds are not very meaningful."
This is a point worthy of reiteration: The use of politically-influenced
safety thresholds to "prove" a food is safe is pervasive in the food
industry. The only thing such safety levels accomplish is generating a
false sense of security, which benefits food companies financially. HRI
Labs, on the other hand, looks at the available research when
establishing their threshold levels. One of the toxins HRI Labs is currently focusing on is glyphosate,
and the public testing being offered (see below) allows them to compile
data on the pervasiveness of this chemical in the food supply. When I
participated in the environmental exposure test a while back, glyphosate
was undetectable, which means levels in my system were below 40 parts
per trillion, likely because I eat primarily organic and homegrown
foods, and expel toxins I might come in contact with through exercise
and regular sauna use.
"What we're finding is there's quite a range of levels of exposure,
but that people who are eating organic generally have much lower levels.
Women tend to have, on average, slightly lower levels than men. There
are certain behaviors that tend to lead one to have higher levels. For instance, it isn't a super strong correlation, but it appears
that if you are a golfer, you're more likely to get exposed, because
they use [glyphosate and other pesticides] on golf courses …
The reassuring thing is that if you … change your diet … and go to a
diet that avoids things that might contain these chemicals, then within
a week or two your levels of glyphosate will drop significantly.
Glyphosate levels are a good indicator for guiding your dietary choices …
Often people come back to us saying, 'This changed my way of thinking
about my diet.' This is a good thing" HRI Labs is often hired to test foods claiming to be non-GMO, "all
natural" and/or organic. Unfortunately, many times testing reveals such
claims to be untrue. A recent case in point is that of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. HRI Labs' testing revealed their ice cream contains glyphosate. Fagan tells the story:
"Organic Consumers Association and … Regeneration Vermont were
concerned about what was happening with Ben & Jerry's. They were
concerned … that the dairy producers … were not even able to get a price
for their product that would cover their costs for producing the milk.
There was also a concern from people in the state that the dairies were
polluting the lakes, and creating problems for the Vermont tourist
industry …
They wanted to look into what was going on with the quality of the
milk. They sent us samples and we did some really in-depth testing using
the very best methods out there.
We used triple quadrupole mass spectrometry linked to high pressure
liquid chromatography to actually look at the quality of the ingredients
in a product. What we found with Ben & Jerry's ice cream was a bit
shocking in that it contained substantial levels of glyphosate ...
Ten of the 11 flavors we looked at contained measurable amounts of
glyphosate, and at least one of them contained levels that, according to
most recent research, raised questions about safety. In particular, it
had been found that glyphosate at quite low levels — levels considered
safe by the Environmental Protection Agency and FDA — … could actually
cause problems like fatty liver disease.
As you may know, there's an epidemic of fatty liver disease in
America today, and it's linked with things like metabolic syndrome …
Organic Consumers Association has been discussing those results around
the country, and discussing with Ben & Jerry's if they could do
something about that. The obvious and most logical thing for them to do is to begin to
use ingredients that are organic instead of just conventional
ingredients, because organic bans the use of things like glyphosate in
the production of crops …" HRI Labs has investigated a number of other foods as well, including
grains, legumes and beans. Most if not all of these types of crops need
to dry in the field before being harvested, and to speed that process,
the fields are doused with glyphosate a couple weeks before harvest. As a
result of this practice, called desiccation, grain-based products, legumes and beans contain rather substantial amounts of glyphosate. Quaker Oats,1
for example, were found to contain very high levels of glyphosate.
People who regularly eat nonorganic oats also have elevated levels of
the chemical in their urine. "These are the kinds of problems that are
coming up out there," Fagan says. "All that's needed is for the grain
producers to change their practices, so that they're not spraying the
fields with this weed killer immediately before they harvest it, and it
will solve those problems." Wines
also contain surprising amounts of glyphosate. As it turns out, weeds
in vineyards are managed by spraying glyphosate, which ends up in the
grapes as the roots of the grape vines pick it up through the soil.
"This testing … is making something that's been invisible in our food system, visible to us," Fagan says.
"[A] vegetable like spinach that you buy in an American grocery store
is going to contain, on average, eight different pesticides. That's
eight different pesticides, and you're taking it home to feed your
family without knowing that's the case …
The reason you aren't able to know that is because the chemical
companies have done a really good job lobbying our government so that
nobody in the supply chain has to talk about these … agrochemicals. The
farmer doesn't have to talk about them. The brands that are selling
products made from those [raw ingredients] don't have to talk about
them. The grocery stores don't have to. They've been made invisible in
our food system, and that's a big concern.
We're doing testing using rigorous methods, the very best methods
out there, the most sensitive methods out there, to make these invisible
things visible, so that you know more about what's in your food system,
and in the foods you're giving to your family. This is so important,
because this allows each of us to make better choices about the food
they provide to their children."
The Politics of Food Testing
Glyphosate Testing
Glyphosate Found in Popular Ice Cream Brand
Substantial Amounts of Glyphosate Found in Many Foods