Concerns about health risks due to residues from spraying glyphosate in combination with other herbicides

Friday, 8 April 2016

In a recent letter to Testbiotech, EU Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis made it clear that the Commission finally wants to allow the import of genetically engineered soybeans produced by Bayer and Monsanto, despite concerns about health risks. These soybeans can be sprayed with a combination of glyphosate and other herbicides such as dicamba or isoxaflutole. The European Food Safety Authority EFSA just recently stated that the health risks of these residues cannot be sufficiently assessed and safety levels cannot be defined since the relevant data are missing. Nevertheless, market authorisation is imminent after massive pressure from industry.

Within the last few months, Testbiotech has received several letters from the Commission about these plants. While it was first argued that safety would be ensured by so-called maximum residue levels (MRL), the Commission has now had to admit that those levels are not sufficiently defined. In fact, they are presented as work in progress, and as the Commission states, no further comment can be given “at this point in time, as the Commission is in the process of establishing its position”.