Understanding glyphosate and AMPA in your cereal
Glyphosate's breakdown product, AMPA, is rarely reported — but it matters. A plain-English guide to reading the results.
Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world, so it's no surprise that traces show up in grain-based foods. What's less well known is that glyphosate breaks down into a compound called AMPA, which persists in the environment and in food.
Most consumer reports stop at glyphosate. But because AMPA is regulated under the same combined-residue limit, leaving it out can understate the real picture. That's why our pesticide panels report both, and assess them together against the strictest applicable benchmark.
Reading the result is mostly about context. A number on its own — say, 0.05 mg/kg — means little until you know the serving size, the limit it's measured against, and whether the product was tested once or over time. We try to surface all three on every result.
If you remember one thing: lower is better, and consistency matters. A product that tests low across repeated samples is a more reassuring signal than a single lucky reading.