For the time being, the EU food authority has no objections to the renewed approval of glyphosate. She had studied the weed killer for more than three years. However, a full assessment is still pending.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) sees renewed approval of the weed killer glyphosate in the European Union as uncritical. “The assessment of the impact of glyphosate on human, animal and environmental health has not identified any critical areas of concern,” said EFSA in a re-evaluation of glyphosate published today.
Accordingly, risks would only be “critical” if they affect “all proposed uses of the active substance to be evaluated”. This would stand in the way of extending the approval, but is not the case with glyphosate, the agency said.
Controversy about alleged carcinogenic effects
EFSA’s assessment serves as the basis for a decision by the EU Commission and the Member States on a possible five-year extension of glyphosate approval. It is a result of more than three years of work by dozens of scientists and the member states, it said. ‘It is based on the analysis of many thousands of studies and scientific articles,’ explained EFSA’s head of risk assessment, Guilhem de Seze.
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the weed killer Roundup from the US company Monsanto, which belongs to the Bayer Group in Leverkusen. Despite strong criticism, Roundup is used in agriculture worldwide. In Europe, the debate focuses primarily on a suspected carcinogenic effect of the substance. This was suggested by studies by the World Health Organization (WHO), among others.
Relevant data was missing, according to Foodwatch the result was not clear
However, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) came to the conclusion last year that glyphosate does not meet the scientific criteria for classification as a carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic substance. This result was also included in the overall assessment, explained the EFSA.
However, according to the experts, the investigations could not be completed in some areas because relevant data was missing. This concerns, among other things, any risks for the diet of consumers and the assessment of risks for aquatic plants. The authority explained that the effects on biodiversity could not yet be conclusively assessed.
For this reason, Foodwatch sees its rejection of the weed killer confirmed. The result was not clear – in this case, a political decision had to be made, explained Annemarie Botzki from the consumer organization. “As long as there are serious doubts about the safety of glyphosate, only one decision is conceivable: the EU Commission must take the precautionary principle into account and withdraw approval for the active substance.”
Legal action against glyphosate approval
So far, however, the EU Commission has always decided differently. In 2017, the EU Parliament called for a ban on glyphosate, but the Commission extended the approval by five years, citing pending scientific reassessments. The EFSA should then publish its so-called peer review 2022 with a view to the approval expiring in December.
However, the date was postponed due to an “unprecedented number” of comments received. According to the Bayer Group, the companies involved submitted the most comprehensive dossier, at more than 180,000 pages, “that has ever been prepared for an active ingredient in a crop protection product”. The EU Commission then extended the approval again by one year, and a decision should now be made by December. The current approval of glyphosate runs until December 15 of this year.
Together with the German Environmental Aid (DUH), Foodwatch announced legal action against the approval of glyphosate in Germany. The assessment of the EFSA contradicts the results of the WHO and other scientific studies, explained DUH boss Jürgen Resch. “Products with glyphosate may no longer be approved in Germany.”