Weedkiller safety row rumbles on
Print Edition
The head of Europe’s food safety watchdog has written to a group of nearly 100 senior scientists strongly rejecting their criticisms in a row about the safety of weed-killer ingredient glyphosate.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which advises European Union policy-makers, issued an opinion in November that glyphosate is unlikely to cause cancer.
That was at odds with a view from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), sparked outrage among environmental campaigners and divided the scientific community.
The IARC said in March that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans,” while environmental groups have been calling for a ban on glyphosate.
Ninety-six academics from around the world signed an open letter to European Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, dated November 27, urging EU authorities to ignore the European watchdogs’s opinion.
“We urge you and the European Commission to disregard the flawed EFSA finding on glyphosate in your formulation of glyphosate health and environmental policy for Europe,” the letter said.
It was written by Christopher Portier from the United States-based nongovernmental organization the Environmental Defense Fund. Portier was also a specialist consulted during the IARC’s research on glyphosate.
The letter called for “a transparent, open and credible review of the scientific literature.”
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