EU report on weedkiller safety copied text from Monsanto study
Source: The Guardian
EU report on weedkiller safety copied text from Monsanto study
Exclusive: EUs food safety watchdog recommended that glyphosate was safe but pages of report were identical to application from pesticide maker
Arthur Neslen
Friday 15 September 2017 00.01 BST
The European food safety authority (Efsa) based a recommendation that a chemical linked to cancer was safe for public use on an EU report that copied and pasted analyses from a Monsanto study, the Guardian can reveal.
Glyphosate is the core ingredient in Monsantos $4.75bn (£3.5bn) a year RoundUp weedkiller brand and a battle over its relicensing has split EU countries, with a final decision on its authorisation expected in early November.
That decision will largely be informed by an Efsa opinion, which is based on a 4,300-page renewal assessment report (RAR) published in 2015.
In June, Efsa said that where the RAR was concerned, every scientific study is scrutinised for relevance and reliability by EU risk assessors based on the evidence contained within the study.
But dozens of pages of the paper are identical to passages in an application submitted by Monsanto on behalf of the Glyphosate Task Force (GTF), an industry body led by the company.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/15/eu-report-on-weedkiller-safety-copied-text-from-monsanto-study