Posted April 22, 2014
U.S.
regulators may start testing food products for residues of the world's most
widely used herbicide as public concern rises over possible links to disease,
according to Reuters.
Food Safety News also published an article available here
and Ag Professional here.
Glyphosate,
the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide, has come under intense scrutiny
since a the World Health Organization (WHO) reported
last month it was classifying glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to
humans."
The
herbicide is considered safe by the EPA, as well as many foreign regulatory
agencies, yet many companies, consumer groups and advocacy organizations have
been sampling foods, as well as human urine and breast milk, to try to
determine the pervasiveness of glyphosate residues.
Glyphosate
is commonly used on wheat, corn, soybeans and other crops in the U.S. and many
other countries. Use of the herbicide has dramatically increased in recent
years along with the planting of genetically engineered crops, according to Food
Safety News.
While the
U.S. government does not specifically test food products for glyphosate
residue, it does do test each year for hundreds of other herbicides and
pesticides to make sure residues are not present in food products at levels
considered dangerous to human health.
The EPA
said the ultimate decision rests with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and
its Pesticide Data Program. In the past, the EPA had advised the USDA that
"glyphosate residues do not pose a risk to human health," according
to Ag
Professional.
However,
USDA spokesman Peter Wood said the "EPA makes the determination which
commodities and pesticides are tested." He said that sampling is based on
EPA "data needs" and EPA has so far not requested glyphosate testing
on any commodity.
Both
agencies said that testing for glyphosate residues would be more costly than
for other pesticides.
Update:
Update:
The
Environmental Protection Agency has wrapped up its review of the world's most
widely used herbicide and plans to release a much-anticipated preliminary risk
assessment no later than July, according to Ag
Professional.
Jim Jones,
assistant administrator for the EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution
Prevention, said that the glyphosate review was concluded months ago, but it was delayed to allow the agency to learn more about the WHO findings.
Jones said
he expects the preliminary risk assessment to generate extensive public
interest and comment.
Jones
declined to provide details about the EPA's conclusions.
For more information on pesticides, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
