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Nov,2025
As of November 29, 2025, Roundup is not being recalled for E. coli, metal contaminants, or any form of food-grade pollution — despite a wave of global food safety alerts happening simultaneously. The truth is more complicated: Bayer AG’s 2023 decision to pull glyphosate-based Roundup from home garden shelves had nothing to do with tainted products. It was a legal retreat. Over 100,000 lawsuits, many alleging Roundup caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma, had turned the product into a financial bloodbath. The company didn’t admit fault. It just stopped selling to homeowners to stop the bleeding.
Why Roundup Was Withdrawn — And Why It’s Still on Farms
When Bayer acquired Monsanto in 2018, it inherited not just a brand, but a legal quagmire. By 2023, jury verdicts had already cost the company billions. In courtrooms from California to New Jersey, plaintiffs claimed decades of lawn spraying led to cancer. Bayer’s public statement was blunt: the withdrawal was "not an admission of wrongdoing," but a strategic move to "stop the flood of lawsuits." Here’s the twist: Roundup isn’t gone. It’s still being sprayed across roughly 300 million acres of U.S. farmland every year. Corn, soy, wheat — these crops are doused with glyphosate, the active ingredient, because it’s cheap and effective. Farmers still buy it. Commercial applicators still use it. The product lives on — just not in your backyard.The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to classify glyphosate as "not likely to be carcinogenic to humans." That’s the official U.S. stance. But it’s an outlier. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) labeled it "probably carcinogenic" back in 2015 — a classification that still haunts Bayer. Countries like France, Germany, Denmark, Thailand, and Vietnam have banned it entirely. The European Commission, however, is preparing to renew glyphosate’s license for another decade, following a July 2023 review by the European Food Safety Authority that found "no critical health concerns." That decision is drawing fire from the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), which says the science is clear: glyphosate exposure may cause cancer.
Separate Crisis: Global Food Recalls for E. coli and Listeria
While Roundup’s legal battle rages, another kind of danger is making headlines — and it’s got nothing to do with herbicides.In March 2025, Canada recalled Micro-pousses mélange corsé, a 60g spicy microgreen mix from Micro plants Robert in Batiscan, Quebec, after testing revealed E. coli contamination. Across the Atlantic, France saw three separate recalls: PORPECALI SUPER U PORT DE PECHE LE GRAU DU ROI pulled boneless dry ham; SARL JEAN DUBY recalled egg aspic; and SNACKING SERVICES pulled a tuna-avocado salad — all due to Listeria monocytogenes.
Australia’s food safety agencies were even busier. Metcash Trading Limited Australasia, Woolworths, and ALDI Stores Pty Ltd all recalled fresh salads, spinach, and mixed greens after detecting shiga toxin-producing E. coli. The contamination traced back to farm-level irrigation and handling — not chemical residues.
In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued recalls in July 2025 for tuna salad contaminated with Listeria (linked to breadcrumbs from Reser's Fine Foods) and a salted fish product pulled nationwide due to botulism risk from improper evisceration. These are food safety failures — not herbicide scandals.
The Legal and Regulatory Tug-of-War
The courts are still sorting out what, if anything, Bayer knew — and when. In November 2025, Motley Rice reported that a federal court had nullified a temporary ruling that had suggested the EPA might be reconsidering glyphosate’s safety. The agency, they noted, "is not currently recognizing glyphosate as a possible human carcinogen." Meanwhile, plaintiffs’ lawyers argue that Monsanto and Bayer ignored decades of internal research suggesting risks.The Massachusetts Department of Public Health released a revised draft report in June 2024 examining glyphosate’s human health impacts — including its presence in urine samples from 95% of Americans tested. And in Congress, Section 453 of the House Appropriations bill has become a battleground over whether pesticide manufacturers should be shielded from liability. If passed, it could limit future lawsuits — even for those already diagnosed with cancer.
What’s Next? Uncertainty on Every Front
Bayer’s strategy seems clear: fight in court, sell to farmers, avoid consumers. But the science won’t stay quiet. The IARC’s 2015 classification still stands. New studies keep emerging. And public trust? It’s eroding. Even if the EPA says glyphosate is safe, millions of people are choosing organic, non-GMO, or glyphosate-free products — not because they fear metal contamination, but because they fear what’s been hidden.Meanwhile, food recalls keep coming — not because of Roundup, but because of poor sanitation, contaminated water, and supply chain gaps. These are two separate crises. But they’re both symptoms of a larger problem: how we produce food, and who gets held accountable when things go wrong.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Roundup being recalled because of E. coli or metal contamination?
No. There is no recall of Roundup for E. coli, heavy metals, or any foodborne contaminant. The product is not a food item and has never been linked to bacterial contamination. The 2023 withdrawal from home garden markets was solely due to litigation over glyphosate’s potential cancer risk, not safety issues with microbes or toxins.
Why does the EPA say glyphosate is safe while the WHO says it might cause cancer?
The EPA and IARC use different methodologies. The EPA focuses on exposure levels during typical use and weighs industry-submitted data, while IARC evaluates the strength of scientific evidence across all published studies — including those on occupational exposure and animal models. This is why the EPA maintains its "not likely carcinogenic" stance, while IARC classifies glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic" — a distinction that fuels global regulatory divergence.
Are food recalls in Canada, Australia, and France related to Roundup?
No. The recalls involving microgreens, spinach, ham, and tuna salad are due to bacterial contamination — E. coli and Listeria monocytogenes — from farm, processing, or storage failures. These are standard food safety incidents, completely unrelated to herbicide use. The timing may be coincidental, but the causes are distinct.
Is glyphosate still being used in the U.S.?
Yes. Glyphosate-based products, including Roundup, are still legally sold and used on approximately 300 million acres of U.S. cropland annually. Bayer continues to market it for commercial agriculture, arguing it’s essential for weed control in genetically modified crops. Homeowners can no longer buy it, but farmers, landscapers, and government agencies still can.
What’s the likelihood of new Roundup lawsuits succeeding?
It’s uncertain. Courts have awarded billions in past cases, but recent rulings have favored Bayer, especially after the EPA’s position was reaffirmed. However, with over 100,000 pending claims and new scientific reviews emerging — like Massachusetts’ 2024 report — plaintiffs’ attorneys say they’re building a growing body of evidence. The outcome may depend on whether Congress passes liability shields or if state courts continue to side with victims.
Why hasn’t the U.S. banned glyphosate like other countries?
The U.S. regulatory system prioritizes economic impact and industry data over precautionary bans. Unlike the EU, which can act on "reasonable suspicion" of harm, the EPA requires near-certainty of risk before restricting a widely used chemical. Glyphosate’s low cost and effectiveness in industrial agriculture make it politically and economically difficult to remove — even as public concern grows.
