Lack of access to glyphosate toxicity information cited

Friends of the Earth Europe has resigned from the stakeholder consultative platform of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) due to lack of access to important information.

In August this year, Friends of the Earth Europe, together with the European Environment Bureau (EEB) and the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), filed an access to information request with EFSA for a key safety report on the herbicide glyphosate.[1]

On 7 October, EFSA rejected this request, claiming that the German government report was a “working document” and that claims for confidential treatment were submitted by the pesticide industry. However, in contrast, industry scientists have quoted from the report in publications.[2]

In 2013 Friends of the Earth Europe found traces of glyphosate in the urine of 44% of people it sampled in 18 countries across Europe.[3]

Due to the above restrictions, Friends of the Earth Europe concluded, “We cannot fulfil our role in the stakeholder platform, and are unable to make a full contribution to the current technical debate on the safety of glyphosate. We therefore resign from the platform.”

Notes

1. http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/draft_version_bfr_glyphosate_rep?post_redirect=1#describe_state_form_1
2. Evaluation of carcinogenic potential of the herbicide glyphosate, drawing on tumor incidence data from fourteen chronic/carcinogenicity rodent studies.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/10408444.2014.1003423
3. http://www.foeeurope.org/glyphosate-reasons-for-concern-briefing-130613

Source: Friends of the Earth Europe
http://www.foeeurope.org/sites/default/files/gmos/2015/foee_efsa_resigning_statement.pdf