German agency says IARC glyphosate decision based on poor evidence

original r by julien christ pixelio de

The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) commented as rapporteur for the active ingredient glyphosate as part of the EU reevaluation this classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) based on the published summary report.

At a meeting of the IARC of the World Health Organization in March 2015 Lyon the gathered experts have classified glyphosate differently based on their available studies, namely as a carcinogen group 2A, so probably carcinogenic to humans. This classification was published in a brief report in the journal “Lancet” on March 20, 2015.

The pesticide active ingredient glyphosate has been evaluated by the authorities responsible for the health assessment in national, European and other international institutions, including the WHO / FAO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) after considering all available studies, not causing cancer.

The publication of 20 March 2015 in the magazine “Lancet”, classifying glyphosate as a Group 2A carcinogen (“probably carcinogenic to humans”) was based, according to BfR, on available information scientifically poorly understood and apparently only based on a few studies.

This risk is derived from three epidemiological studies from the USA, Canada and Sweden. However, this assessment has not been confirmed in a large cohort of well-cited “Agricultural Health Study” and other studies.

In the current report of the BfR in the EU, however, over 30 epidemiological studies were evaluated. In the overall assessment, there was no validated relationship between Glyphosat exposition and an increased risk of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma or other cancers.

Read original release (in German): Löst Glyphosat Krebs aus?

Read full, original article: German government risk specialists comment on glyphosate [herbicide] carcinogen classification

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