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EFSA and the EU Member States have finalized the re-assessment of glyphosate, a chemical that is used widely in pesticides.
The peer review group concluded that glyphosate is unlikely to be genotoxic (i.e. damaging to DNA) or to pose a carcinogenic threat to humans. Glyphosate is not proposed to be classified as carcinogenic under the EU regulation for classification, labelling and packaging of chemical substances. In particular, all the Member State experts but one agreed that neither the epidemiological data (i.e. on humans) nor the evidence from animal studies demonstrated causality between exposure to glyphosate and the development of cancer in humans.
EFSA also considered the report published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans. The evaluation considered a number of studies not assessed by the IARC which is one of the reasons for reaching different conclusions.
The EFSA conclusion will inform the European Commission in deciding whether or not to retain the substance on the EU’s list of approved active substances. This is a condition for enabling Member States to authorize its continued use in pesticides in the EU.
Read full, original post: Glyphosate: EFSA updates toxicological profile
