Glyphosate in food, legal limits and ADIs compared by country
Glyphosate in food is legal up to crop MRLs and shows up most in wheat, oats, barley and soybeans. ADIs differ: EU 0.5, Codex 0-1, EPA chronic RfD 1.0.
Glyphosate in food and its legal limits across jurisdictions
Glyphosate residues are legal in food up to maximum residue limits that each jurisdiction sets per crop, and they show up most in grains and pulses: wheat, oats, barley and soybeans. The safe-intake benchmarks behind those limits differ: the EU acceptable daily intake (ADI) is 0.5 mg/kg body weight per day, Codex (JMPR) uses a group ADI of 0-1 mg/kg, Japan is 1 mg/kg, Korea is 0.8 mg/kg and Canada and Australia are 0.3 mg/kg. The US EPA figure is a chronic reference dose of 1.00 mg/kg/day, not an ADI.
How to read the numbers
Two numbers get confused most often in glyphosate questions. An ADI is an intake benchmark for people, in mg per kg of body weight per day over a lifetime. An MRL (a "tolerance" in the US) is a legal ceiling for a commodity, in mg per kg of food, which is the same as ppm. Regulators set MRLs from residue trials under approved use and then check the resulting intake against the ADI. The units differ, so you can't compare a 30 ppm wheat limit with a 1 mg/kg bw ADI.
ADIs differ between regulators mostly because each one picked a different study and no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL), then divided by the same safety factor of 100. EFSA used a 90-day dog study with a NOAEL of 53 mg/kg bw/day (EFSA Journal 2023). Health Canada used 32 mg/kg bw/day (PRVD2015-01). Japan and the EPA both used 100 mg/kg bw/day (FSCJ, EPA 2017 draft).
Glyphosate ADI and reference dose by jurisdiction
| Jurisdiction | ADI or chronic reference value (mg/kg bw/day) | Acute reference dose |
|---|---|---|
| EU (EFSA 2023) | 0.5 | 1.5 mg/kg bw |
| US EPA | chronic RfD / cPAD 1.00 | not established |
| Codex (JMPR) | group ADI 0-1 | not necessary |
| Japan (FSCJ) | 1 | unnecessary |
| Korea (MFDS) | 0.8 | not needed |
| Canada (PMRA) | 0.3 | 1.0 (0.5 for females 13-49) |
| Great Britain | 0.5 | 0.5 mg/kg bw |
| Australia | 0.3 | not shown |
Sources: EU Pesticides Database, EPA, Codex, FSCJ, MFDS, Health Canada, HSE, FSANZ.
The 1.00 EPA value comes from the 2017 draft assessment (EPA 2017 draft). An older 2006 assessment used 1.75 mg/kg/day (EPA 2006). The Codex value is a range of 0-1 and a group ADI: it covers glyphosate, N-acetyl-glyphosate, AMPA and N-acetyl-AMPA together (Codex). JMPR set it in 2011 and reaffirmed it in May 2016 (JMPR 2016). Japan's ADI was notified on 12 July 2016 (FSCJ). FSCJ was asked to re-evaluate in January 2023 and has not issued a new value yet (FSCJ). Australia's ADI was set in 1985, according to FSANZ.
Glyphosate limits for wheat, oats and barley
| Food (mg/kg) | EU | US | Codex | Japan | Korea | Canada | GB | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat | 10 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 10 | 5 |
| Oats | 20 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 20 | 15 | 20 | T*0.1 (cereal grains group) |
| Barley | 20 | 30 | 30 | not shown | 20 | 10 | 20 | 20 |
Sources: EU Pesticides Database, 40 CFR 180.364, Codex, MHLW, MFDS, Health Canada, GB MRL database, Food Standards Code Schedule 20.
The US has no wheat, oat or barley row of its own. All three fall under "Grain, cereal, group 15" (excluding field corn, popcorn, rice, sweet corn and wild rice) at 30 ppm. Codex works the same way through its cereal grains group, minus maize and rice. So "the US wheat limit" is really the group limit. Australia has no oat-specific row either. Oats take the cereal grains group value, T*0.1 (Schedule 20).
Japan raised wheat from 5.0 to 30 ppm, and "other cereals" (including oats) from 20 to 30 ppm, from 25 December 2017 (MHLW).
The current EU values all come from Regulation (EU) No 293/2013, applicable since 6 April 2013, and they have not changed since (EU Pesticides Database). Canada also sets separate limits for milling fractions other than flour: wheat 15, oats 35 and barley 15 (Health Canada). A May 2021 proposal to raise some bran and pulse limits was paused on 4 August 2021, and Health Canada has not issued a final decision (Health Canada).
Soybeans are 20 mg/kg in the EU (EU Pesticides Database), the US (40 CFR 180.364) and Codex (Codex). EU lentils are 10, and buckwheat and other pseudocereals are 0.1, the limit of quantification (EU Pesticides Database). In the US, field corn grain is 5.0 ppm, popcorn grain is 0.1 and rice grain is 0.1 (40 CFR 180.364). Codex sets maize at 5 (Codex).
What the residue definition covers
Two labs can measure "glyphosate" differently and both be right for their market. The EU legal residue definition is glyphosate alone. The trimethyl-sulfonium cation from glyphosate use has its own separate MRLs (EU Pesticides Database). EFSA proposed wider definitions in 2023 for risk assessment, adding AMPA and, for glyphosate-tolerant crops, the N-acetyl metabolites (EFSA Journal 2023). Those proposals are not law yet.
US tolerances cover glyphosate and its metabolites, but compliance "is to be determined by measuring only glyphosate" (40 CFR 180.364). Codex uses the sum of glyphosate and N-acetylglyphosate, expressed as glyphosate, for soya bean, maize and rape, and glyphosate alone for other crops (Codex). When you order glyphosate testing for export, ask the lab which definition its result follows.
Which foods contain glyphosate
Official monitoring points to grains and soy, and nearly all findings are within limits.
- EU, 2024 data: 14,143 food samples analysed. 98.2% had no quantified residue, 1.6% were above the LOQ but within the MRL and 26 samples (0.2%) exceeded the MRL. After measurement uncertainty, 16 samples (0.1%) were non-compliant, "mainly on buckwheat and other pseudo-cereals" (EFSA Journal 2026).
- US soybeans, USDA Pesticide Data Program 2022: glyphosate in 558 of 608 samples (91.8%), from 0.10 to 13.6 ppm against a 20 ppm tolerance. Corn grain had it in 73 of 309 samples (USDA PDP 2022). Back in 2011 soybeans were at 90.3% detection, so this is a long-running pattern (PDP 2011).
- US FDA: the FY2024 report, published 30 September 2026, covers 3,528 human food samples and lists glyphosate in 68 samples (FDA FY2024). An earlier FDA special assignment on 879 corn, soybean, milk and egg samples found no glyphosate violations (FDA Q&A).
- GB bread: glyphosate in 89 of 216 samples in 2023 and 60 of 216 in 2024, with none above the MRL in either year (PRiF 2023, PRiF 2024). In 2025, Q3 had glyphosate in 40 of 96 samples and Q4 in 14 of 48, with none above the MRL in Q4 (PRiF Q3 2025, PRiF Q4 2025).
But a detection is not a violation. Most quantified finds sit inside the legal limit. If someone asks how to avoid glyphosate, or a supplier sells "glyphosate free" grain, check the method and LOQ against the MRL. None of the regulators above define "glyphosate free".
Regulatory status in 2026
The EU renewed glyphosate under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2660, from 16 December 2023 to 15 December 2033, for herbicide uses only. Desiccation "to control the time point of harvest or to optimise threshing" is not allowed. Member States must pay particular attention to pre-harvest uses, among other points (EUR-Lex). That is narrower than a ban on all pre-harvest use.
The EU MRL review is on hold. In June 2025 the Commission asked EFSA to pause it until the Ramazzini Global Glyphosate Study has been assessed, "in approximately two years" (SCoPAFF summary). EFSA's topic page, last reviewed 22 September 2026, shows no outcome yet (EFSA).
In the US, the Ninth Circuit vacated the human health portion of EPA's interim decision in June 2022, and EPA withdrew that decision in September 2022. EPA expects to finish an updated carcinogenicity evaluation and human health risk assessment in late 2026, with a public webinar planned for early 2027. The open-literature search comment period closed on 24 September 2026 (docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0361) (EPA). In Great Britain, HSE has extended the approval "until 15 December 2026" (HSE).
To pull the ADIs, MRLs and residue definitions for glyphosate in one place with links to each source, you can ask RegAffairs AI.