B&Q will stop selling weedkiller Roundup after cancer link discovered in the US
- The DIY giant delisted the weedkiller Roundup following links to cancer in the US
- The brand is no longer available in any size but 1 litre bottles are on clearance
- Glyphosate-based products are the most commonly used weedkiller in Britain
B&Q will stop selling the weedkiller Roundup – after it has been linked to causing cancer in the US.
The DIY giant has delisted the popular weedkiller and other glyphosate-based products, which will disappear from shelves once existing stock is sold.
Roundup is no longer available in any size on B&Q’s website but it is still selling 1 litre bottles at a clearance price of £1 at its 296 outlets, according to Horticulture Week.
Glyphosate-based products are the most commonly used weedkiller in British gardens and farms despite long standing health concerns.
B&Q will stop selling the weedkiller Roundup (pictured) after it has been linked to causing cancer in the US
Government figures suggest a third of UK cereal crops, such as wheat and barley, are sprayed with glyphosate – which is used to both kill weeds and act as a drying agent so the plants are easier to harvest.
Studies have found traces of the chemical in 60 per cent of wholemeal bread and other foods from ice cream to snacks and breakfast cereals.
The Soil Association says glyphosate has been linked to health issues such as cancer and liver and kidney damage.
B&Q said its decision to remove the products is part of a wider effort to help customers create ‘healthier gardens’.
It has already removed neonicotinoids sprays because of concerns for bees and metaldehyde, a slug pellet, because it harms birds and other wildlife.
A spokesman said: ‘B&Q is reviewing its garden care and maintenance range. This year we are removing all brands of products containing glyphosate.’
The Royal Horticultural Society, some supermarkets such as Waitrose and garden centre Dobbies have dropped Roundup but the active ingredient is still available in products from many garden centres.
The weedkiller was developed by US agrochemical company Monsanto, which was bought by the German chemical giant Bayer in 2018. The company was sued in the US last year by claimants who said that the chemical led to their cancer diagnosis.
B&Q said its decision to remove the products is part of a wider effort to help customers create ‘healthier gardens’
A jury in California found that Bayer was liable for causing an elderly couple to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
They ordered Bayer to pay Alva and Alberta Pilliod $2billion (£1.64billion) in damages which a trial judge later reduced to $86million (£71million).
The Pilliods, who are in their 70s, used Roundup for more than 30 years. They are both in remission but they testified about lasting damage from the cancer.
There are more than 50,000 similar legal cases against Bayer. The company continues to deny that glyphosate causes cancer, saying decades of studies show that it is safe for human use.
In 2018, then-Conservative environment minister Therese Coffey caused controversy by encouraging people to use Roundup.
Alongside a picture of the product in her garden, she tweeted: ‘Getting ready to deploy the amazing Roundup!’