EU Court Asks EFSA To Reveal Glyphosate Cancer Studies

EU Court Asks EFSA To Reveal Glyphosate Cancer Studies

Introduction

On Thursday, EU court ruled that the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) must disclose to European lawmakers the details of studies about the dangers and carcinogenic nature of glyphosate in support of the campaigners who want Roundup weedkiller banned.

In the statement released, the European Court of Justice’s General Court told that the intent was to give the general public access to the research information, along with the knowledge of what is or could be released into the environment and understand the severity of that release. Judges recalled two decisions by EFSA that denied access to the research details. Green members of the European Parliament brought the two cases. The agency's spokesperson told, "EFSA welcomes the decision. This case, and the Court’s ruling is important because it provides orientation for EFSA and others charged with interpreting EU legislation on public access to documents." Monsanto sold glyphosate-containing herbicide under the brand name Roundup. Presently, it is off-patent and marketed by dozens of other distributors including Dow AgroSciences and Germany’s BASF. In 2015, a World Health Organization agency raised concerns about glyphosate's safety and effectiveness while concluding that it was a probable reason for cancer in humans.

Roundup bellwether trials are currently underway in the Northern District of California, where  Judge Vince Chhabria overlooks the multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2741; In re: Roundup Products Liability Litigation).