The fact that glyphosate has passed the first stage of its safety assessment for possible renewal in the EU beyond 15 December 2022 was criticised by scientists on Friday 26 November.
This is due to the scientific data provided by the applicant industry, which led the four rapporteur Member States (France, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Sweden) to declare this pesticide safe, much to the dismay of many NGOs (see EUROPE 12811/5).
An independent evaluation by cancer researchers published on Friday reveals flaws in the dossier that the glyphosate renewal group (led by Bayer) submitted to EU authorities in 2020.
According to this evaluation, of the 35 studies considered to be of acceptable quality, 18 were ‘not reliable’, 15 were ‘partially reliable’, and only two were confirmed as ‘reliable’.
“None of the most important knowledge gaps were addressed. None of the studies submitted by the manufacturers concerned the induction of DNA damage in the liver, and in other inner organs, while results of published studies with adequate methods indicate that the herbicide causes DNA damage in this organ”, said Professor Siegfried Knasmueller of the Institute of Cancer Research (Medical University of Vienna) in a video conference.
Adding, “all test systems that were used in industry studies are more than 30 years old, and the most frequently used in vivo model applied in these industry studies detects only 5-6 out of 10 carcinogens, as most validation studies show”.
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) had already concluded that there was ‘strong evidence’ that glyphosate is genotoxic and ‘probably carcinogenic’ to humans.
Dr Angeliki Lyssimachou of the NGO HEAL deplored that the industry’s studies do not take into account all available scientific literature, in violation of EU legislation.
Evaluation by researchers: https://bit.ly/3HVHNhd (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)