No fewer than 41 non-governmental organisations joined forces on Wednesday 13 October to urge the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, to ensure that the ongoing evaluation of glyphosate is based on updated independent scientific evidence and remains free from vested interests.
Glyphosate, the active substance of a highly controversial pesticide, is under review for possible renewal in the EU when the current licence expires on 15 December 2022 (see EUROPE 12798/14, 11924/14).
In an open letter published on Wednesday, these NGOs, already signatories of the ‘Stop Glyphosate’ Citizens’ Initiative accepted by the European Commission (see EUROPE 12687/4, 11924/14), are alarmed that four Member States (France, Hungary, the Netherlands and Sweden) issued a statement in June concluding, on a preliminary basis, that glyphosate does not pose a risk to human health.
The signatories of the letter express concerns about the credibility of the studies that have been provided by industry applicants to support the renewal of the European authorisation of glyphosate.
They point out that an independent scientific analysis published in July showed that only 2 of the 38 genotoxicity studies of glyphosate that were submitted by industry for the previous assessment of the active substance can be considered reliable from a methodological point of view (https://bit.ly/3FHl8US ).
“Independent scientific evidence has associated exposure to glyphosate and glyphosate-based products with certain types of cancer in humans, adverse effects on early life development and hormone disruption”, comments HEAL (Health and Environment Alliance) Executive Director Genon K. Jensen. He added: “By giving priority to industry studies, the European Commission fails to fulfil its commitment for an objective and transparent assessment and ultimately to ensure that pesticides that cause harm to human health or the environment are removed from the EU market”.
See the open letter: https://bit.ly/3axSGX9 (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)