Protecting Crops and Human Health at the Same Time

Developing the first test kit to detect glyphosate

Human exposure to herbicides through food consumption can pose potential health risks. According to a 2016 study, glyphosate is the most common agricultural herbicide in the world, used to kill weeds that compete with crops. Eurofins Abraxis developed and brought the first rapid test solutions, from semi-quantitative field screening to quantitative and automated laboratory testing, to detect glyphosate, to market.

Food consumption is an important pathway of human exposure to pesticides, herbicides and chemical contaminants such as glyphosate. Herbicides play an important role in improving crop yields and feeding a growing population, but the responsible use of these items is in the best interests of humankind and the environment. Glyphosate and other chemical compounds can enter the food supply through direct application to food crops, indirect application by drift from aerial spraying of adjacent fields, through soil or through cross-contamination of shared equipment during food processing.

Developing the first test kit to detect glyphosate the science behind Glyphosate is absorbed through foliage and transported to growing parts of a plant. As such, it is only effective on actively growing plants and not as a pre-emergence herbicide. A great number of crops, such as soybean and corn for example, have been genetically engineered to withstand glyphosate, and so farmers use glyphosate as a post-emergence herbicide against weeds.

While glyphosate has been approved by regulatory bodies worldwide, concerns about its potential effect on humans and the environment persist. As a result, consumer demand for “glyphosate free” food products has been growing for several years. Leading food manufacturers demanded that suppliers decrease the concentration of glyphosate in the grains they produce, and consumer pressure has driven manufacturers to carry out glyphosate testing on their food products.

Eurofins Abraxis developed the first commercially available rapid test kit. The kit detects low levels of glyphosate in crops safeguarding consumers and supporting manufacturers to identify and producers to showcase “low glyphosate” crops. Eurofins Technology Abraxis’ ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and lateral flow (dipstick) test kits allow for the sensitive (low ppb, parts per billion) and rapid analysis of glyphosate in grains, coffee, and over 30 other matrices. Lateral flow tests can be carried out rapidly in field, while ELISA test kits are subject to traditional laboratory testing.

The science behind