As New Zealand's food safety regulator, our top priority is the safety of consumers’ food. Find out how we monitor and control the use of the herbicide glyphosate.
New Zealand Food Safety consulted from 17 March to 16 May 2025 on a proposal to amend glyphosate maximum residue levels (MRLs). As a result of the consultation process, New Zealand Food Safety has decided to set glyphosate MRLs of 0.1mg/kg for wheat, barley and oats (maintaining current levels), and 6mg/kg (as proposed) for field peas (dried).
Find out about the consultation and see the summary of submissions
Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world, including in New Zealand. It kills a wide range of weeds that can affect production on farms, and that are found in orchards and gardens.
The herbicide is used in many products. Roundup is the most recognised brand.
In New Zealand, glyphosate products are primarily used for weed control. There are no "Roundup-ready" crops (crops that are bred or genetically modified to be resistant to glyphosate) in New Zealand.
Check the ACVM register for a list of registered glyphosate products and their approved labels
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) regulates the use of glyphosate under the:
Glyphosate products used on food crops need to be registered under the ACVM Act 1997. Glyphosate products undergo a thorough scientific assessment of:
For environmental impact and human health purposes, New Zealand's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) regulates the manufacture, importing, use, storage, and transportation of hazardous substances. This includes glyphosate. The EPA has approved glyphosate for use in New Zealand.
Read more about glyphosate – EPA
MPI sets limits on how much glyphosate residue is allowed to be present in food products. These are called "maximum residue levels" (MRLs).
MRLs are set for other agricultural chemicals (such as herbicides and other pesticides) and agricultural compounds used on animals (like drenches and antibiotics).
MPI follows internationally agreed protocols to set MRLs at levels that are well below the level that could harm somebody's health. This is because we set MRLs to ensure that good agricultural practice (GAP) is being followed, rather than to the highest level allowed by food safety limits. GAP is the use of agricultural products at the lowest amount possible to consistently achieve their intended purpose.
We set MRLs after a thorough technical assessment of the compound’s efficacy, safety, and residue data when used according to GAP.
Find out more about MRLs for agricultural compounds
MRLs are not often exceeded and, when they are, this is rarely a food safety concern. This is because all MRLs are set well below both international and New Zealand safe exposure limits.
If a residue found in food is assessed to be a food safety risk to consumers, we will take appropriate action. Warranted officers will follow up with suppliers to determine what happened and which corrective actions are needed. If there is a food safety risk, food can be recalled and food production can be suspended.
Read more about how we enforce the Food Act: Enforcement of the Food Act 2014
To monitor and control the use of glyphosate in New Zealand, New Zealand Food Safety carries out testing.
New Zealand Food Safety monitors animal products and plant-based foods for a wide range of residues and contaminants – including glyphosate – for dietary exposure, good agricultural practice, trade, and for consumer confidence that these foods are safe and suitable.
Since 2014–15, we have tested for glyphosate residues in a range of foods.
Testing shows that there is no glyphosate in New Zealand milk.
New Zealand Food Safety was approached in 2015 by a group concerned about the possibility that there could be glyphosate residues in New Zealand milk. We considered that:
As a precaution, New Zealand Food Safety decided to carry out a targeted testing programme. We tested for glyphosate and its metabolite in:
No residues were detected in those samples. The tests were done in an accredited laboratory using an approved test method.
The results confirmed our assessment that milk is not likely to have glyphosate residues.
New Zealand Food Safety continues to test both milk and dairy products through the National Chemical Contaminants Programme every year. No glyphosate resides have been detected. From this, consumers should be confident there is no food safety concern regarding glyphosate residues in milk.
Documents for the National Chemical Contaminants Programme
New Zealand Food Safety tested honey samples for glyphosate residues in 2017/18 and 2018/19.
None of the samples taken from honey available for sale had glyphosate residues above regulatory levels, and there were no food safety concerns.
A small number of raw honey samples showed glyphosate residues above regulatory levels. However, there were no food safety concerns associated with these samples.
For context, if a 5-year-old child was eating honey with 0.1 mg/kg of glyphosate residues (the default maximum residue level in New Zealand), they would need to eat roughly 230 kg of honey every day for the rest of their life to reach the World Health Organization (WHO) "Acceptable Daily Intake" for glyphosate.
The results of this testing show that residue levels and prevalence are comparable to or lower than those published in other international reports and studies.
Results for agricultural compounds in honey [PDF, 1.4 MB]
New Zealand Food Safety letter — Testing confirms safety of NZ honey [PDF, 127 KB]
New Zealand Food Safety regularly tests plant-based foods for residues from agricultural chemicals (namely herbicides and pesticides). We test for compounds that are routinely used on farms to control pests and diseases. The aim of the testing is to confirm that New Zealand growers and importers are following good agricultural practice. Good agricultural practice means using the lowest amount of the agricultural chemical necessary to consistently achieve its intended purpose.
Residue detections are checked against MRLs to review good agricultural practice.
New Zealand Food Safety does the testing through our Food Residues Survey Programme.
Food Residues Survey Programme
New Zealand Food Safety tested for glyphosate residues in pea and wheat crops in the 2015/16 survey. No glyphosate residues were detected above the MRL of 0.1 mg/kg in the pea samples. Glyphosate residues were detected in 26 of the wheat samples. Twenty of these samples contained glyphosate above the MRL of 0.1 mg/kg.
The results were assessed and indicated no food safety concern. At the highest level detected (5.9 mg/kg), the average adult would have to eat 14 kg of wheat-based products every day for their entire life to reach the WHO "Acceptable Daily Intake" for glyphosate.
Because the levels in the wheat samples were greater than expected, New Zealand Food Safety investigated the possible causes. No clear reasons for the higher residue levels were found. We found that label instructions may not be clear on the use of glyphosate for pre-harvest weed control in cereal crops.
As a result, we reviewed the wording on labels for pre-harvest weed control in cereal crops, focusing on clarity and consistency. This included a review of residue information for glyphosate when used in cereal crops for weed control.
We review and respond to glyphosate research and statements from major international food safety authorities.
In 2004, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization joint meeting on pesticide residues (JMPR) reviewed glyphosate's toxicity and dietary risk in detail. They concluded that glyphosate is of very low toxicity.
They reviewed glyphosate again in 2016 and included findings of a 2015 International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) report. They concluded that the health risk to consumers from dietary exposure is very low.
New Zealand Food Safety agreed with the conclusions in both JMPR reports in our assessment of the dietary risk of glyphosate to New Zealand and international consumers.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced in March 2015 that it had determined that glyphosate was a probable human carcinogen.
New Zealand Food Safety reviewed the IARC report in July 2015 and concluded that IARC had done a hazard assessment and not a risk assessment. This means that IARC looked at whether glyphosate exposure could lead to cancer under any circumstances, whether those circumstances were realistic or not. For example, if the dose required is not one that humans are likely to be exposed to.
New Zealand Food Safety's view is that the IARC data does not indicate any credible risk to users of glyphosate (for example, farmers and home gardeners) or to consumers of produce with residues of glyphosate that comply with the New Zealand maximum residue levels.
On 28 November 2023, the European Commission adopted the Implementing Regulation to renew, for 10 years, the approval of glyphosate. This means glyphosate has been renewed from 16 December 2023 to 15 December 2033.
This decision has been based on the assessment made by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) of the impact of glyphosate on the health of humans, animals, and the environment, carried out between 2019 and 2023. It did not identify critical areas of concern that would prevent a renewal of approval.
EFSA explains the scientific assessment of glyphosate – Fact sheet [PDF, 967 KB]
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has completed a review of glyphosate as required under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. It has concluded that "there are no risks of concern to human health when glyphosate is used according to the label and that it is not a carcinogen".
The US EPA website has more information.
In 2017, the Australia Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) reviewed the weight of evidence on the carcinogenicity and overall safety of glyphosate products.
APVMA concluded that “exposure to glyphosate does not pose a carcinogenic risk to humans” and that it “would not be likely to have an effect that is harmful to human beings”.
Food Residues Survey Programme
National Chemical Contaminants Programme
National Chemical Residues Programme
New Zealand Food Safety food monitoring and surveillance programmes
ACVM Act 1997 – NZ Legislation
If you have questions about glyphosate in food, email info@mpi.govt.nz
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