Politics weed killer
EU food authority classifies glyphosate as non-critical
Status: 06.07.2023 | Reading time: 2 minutes
The herbicide glyphosate is suspected of being carcinogenic. The EU food authority Efsa found no evidence of this (archive image)
Source: dpa/Patrick Pleul
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Neither carcinogenic nor mutagenic: This is how scientists at the European Food Safety Authority classify glyphosate. They had previously studied the weed killer three years ago. However, some assessments are still pending – there is a lack of data.
The EU Food Safety Authority (Efsa) has no scientific objections to a further extension of the approval of the controversial weed killer glyphosate. “The assessment of the impact of glyphosate on human, animal and environmental health has not identified any critical areas of concern,” the agency said on Thursday. The EU Commission and the Member States are now deciding whether the approval will actually be extended.
Glyphosate is suspected of being carcinogenic. However, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) concluded last year that it does not meet the scientific criteria for classification as a carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic substance. Efsa has now specified that it would stand in the way of a further extension of the approval if a problem with the agent affected “all proposed uses of the active substance to be evaluated”. This is not the case.
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Nevertheless, according to the Efsa experts, the investigations could not be completed in some areas because relevant data was missing. This concerns, among other things, possible 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.
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Efsa was supposed to publish its so-called peer review on glyphosate last year, but then postponed the date with reference to the “unprecedented number” of comments received. According to the manufacturer Bayer, 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”.
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Glyphosate is currently approved in the EU until December of this year. A further five-year extension is under discussion. The EU Commission last decided in 2017 to extend it for five years pending a new scientific assessment. The approval would have expired in December 2022, but was again extended by one year because the peer review was still missing.
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