Banned weedkiller put on sale in local Carrefour

Banned weedkiller put on sale in local Carrefour

Bottles of controversial herbicide Roundup were put on sale by a supermarket in the Walloon city of Mouscron, in what could constitute a violation to a country-wide ban on the targetting the product.

The glyphosate-based product was spotted on the shelves of a local Carrefour by a customer, who said it was being sold at half price, despite a ban that came into effect at the start of 2019 that bans the sale of all glyphosate-based products in Belgium.

"It was a human mistake. When the error was noticed we removed the products from the shelves," spokesperson for Carrefour told RTL, adding that the error concerned only the shop in Mouscron.

The spokesperson said that they did not yet know how many bottles had been sold due to the misstep, but that the number of products sold appeared to be low.

The error could expose the international supermarket chain to heavy penalties, including a prison sentence and a fine of up to €1 million.

Roundup's main ingredient, glyphosate, has for years been the object of controversy as some studies have shown that it may be carcinoegic, prompting countries to ban the sale of products containing the substance.

The Brussels Times


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