Europe
May 19, 2016
Regulatory decisions must be made consistently, predictably and be based on the best available science
In response to further delay of a vote by European Union (EU) Member States on the renewal of glyphosate, Philip Miller, Ph.D., Monsanto’s vice president of global regulatory and governmental affairs, today issued the following statement:
The European Union’s risk assessment on glyphosate has been one of the most thorough evaluations of an agricultural product ever conducted. The risk assessment conducted by the rapporteur member state, Germany, and reviewed by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) included more than 90,000 pages of data and 353 studies not previously reviewed by the EU. The assessment considered the best available science and found no evidence of unreasonable risk. In addition, earlier this week, the Joint WHO/FAO Meeting on Pesticide Residues again reaffirmed that glyphosate is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans from exposure through the diet.
Further delay in a vote by the EU Member States is not scientifically warranted and represents an unprecedented deviation from the EU’s legislative framework. This delay undermines the credibility of the European regulatory process and threatens to put European farmers and the European agriculture and chemical industries at a competitive disadvantage.
Monsanto joins with farmer groups and other European glyphosate registrants in reinforcing the strong conclusions of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and EFSA. On the basis of this scientific assessment, we urge a prompt and full renewal of glyphosate by the EU Member States.
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