The European Union’s risk assessment on glyphosate has been one of the most thorough evaluations of an agricultural product ever conducted.  The risk assessment conducted by the rapporteur member state, Germany, and reviewed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) included more than 90,000 pages of data and 353 studies that had not been part of prior EU reviews.  The assessment considered the best available science and concluded that glyphosate poses no unreasonable risk to human health or the environment. 

In particular, the EFSA evaluation concluded that glyphosate is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic hazard.  This carcinogenicity conclusion was affirmed again last week by the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA). In addition, last month, the Joint WHO/FAO Meeting on Pesticide Residues reaffirmed that glyphosate is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans from exposure through the diet.  No regulatory body in the world considers glyphosate to be a carcinogen. 

Monsanto joins with European farmers and other stakeholders in reinforcing the strong safety conclusions on glyphosate by regulatory and scientific bodies in Europe and around the world.  Under the EU regulatory framework, glyphosate should be renewed for a full 15 years on the basis of EFSA’s scientific conclusion.  Further delays in this process represent a significant deviation from the EU regulatory framework and set a concerning precedent for other active substances.  Regulatory decisions should be based on the best available science.