Glyphosate Safety Record
Glyphosate has to undergo one of the world’s most stringent regulatory evaluations for any product, through the EPA, to ensure it poses no unreasonable risk to humans or the environment. They also set strict rules around potential residues.
The EPA requires hundreds of studies evaluating all circumstances of human health and environmental impact. To ensure they can fully assess a new pesticide, EPA also provides clear direction about how studies should be conducted, either by registrants (manufacturers) or at third-party labs.
Bayer’s research on glyphosate (and other pesticides) is carried out in compliance with Good Laboratory Practices (GLPs). Research following this international framework allows third-party audits of safety studies to ensure data is reproducible, reliable, traceable and credible. Facility inspections, audits and intense data reviews are performed randomly by regulatory authorities (like the EPA), and raw data from the studies are archived for at least 15 years. This research is often conducted at the behest of the EPA and the Agency also provides clear direction about how studies should be conducted, either by manufacturers or at third-party labs. Some studies may be conducted by the company that makes the product, which is standard practice and done in compliance with regulations around the world. Many others are conducted by independent labs but funded by the manufacturer. The process is open and transparent, with all scientific data available for public scrutiny.
EPA experts review and validate the studies and data to determine both the risks and the benefits of new products. Generally, a product is deemed safe by the EPA when the expected exposure levels, based on its intended real-world use, are at least 100 times lower than the highest dose determined to be safe in scientific testing. They also set strict rules around potential residues. The U.S. regulatory process also involves coordination with state governments who have regulatory authority to register and regulate pesticides for use within their borders.
The process is open and transparent, with all scientific data available for public scrutiny and the agency receiving and considering hundreds of comments from the public and independent experts prior to making their final approval decision.
After approval, EPA, USDA, FDA and state regulatory bodies regularly monitor the food supply to protect the health of consumers and ensure that residues are lower than levels set by the EPA. Approved products are also re-tested and re-evaluated by the EPA, to ensure they are up to date with and meet current scientific standards.
Regulatory Evaluation vs. External Classification
Experts and regulators worldwide have concluded that glyphosate-based products can be used safely as directed. The only group to categorize glyphosate as a probable carcinogen is an affiliate of the World Health Organization called the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is not a regulatory body and did not conduct or fully review any original studies.
For additional context, IARC puts other everyday things like drinking hot beverages, a barber’s occupational exposure, and eating red meat at the same level of safety hazard as glyphosate.
The EPA and other leading regulatory authorities around the world have assessed the scientific data and disagreed with the cancer classification for glyphosate reached in 2015 by IARC.
