Welcome to the Summer Edition of The Glyphosate Renewal Group (GRG) Newsletter

In this summer edition, you can read about the evaluation and selection process of scientific public literature articles included in the dossier submitted for the renewal of the EU authorisation of the active substance glyphosate and the public availability of the complete lists of all considered articles, including the justification for their relevance for the scientific evaluation, as part of the GRG transparency commitment.
On the occasion of the recently celebrated UN-designated International Day of Plant Health in May, which aims to raise global awareness of how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect biodiversity and the environment and boost economic development, we invite you to read about the role glyphosate has in contributing to plant health. 
Furthermore, we provide an update on the recent developments in the ongoing regulatory process, GRG activities, and other GRG news.

We invite you to connect with us; we listen, we engage.

Visit our website to learn more, or contact us directly.

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IN THIS ISSUE

Regulatory Milestones
The updated timelines for glyphosate assessments
ECHA: classifying glyphosate as a carcinogen is not justified

Useful Information
International Day of Plant Health
The scientific dossier: Public literature selection

GRG News 
The 2022 International Grain Council (IGC) Conference

Website News 
The GRG website is now available in Greek

Get In Touch 
Do you have any questions? 

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Regulatory Milestones

The updated timelines for glyphosate assessments

On May 10th 2022, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a press release, informing that the evaluation for the renewal of the EU authorisation of the active substance glyphosate, as stipulated by the EU Plant Protection Regulation (Regulation (EC) 1107/2009), will be delayed.

Such a delay would result in a dedicated regulatory procedure leading to an extension of the approval period for glyphosate while the process of renewal continues until a final decision is made.

The GRG acknowledges the decision to extend the evaluation period as it gives EFSA additional time to thoroughly evaluate the renewal application and all the relevant science.

Read the full GRG statement here.

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ECHA: classifying glyphosate as a carcinogen is not justified

On May 30th the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced the conclusion of its review of the classification of glyphosate. Based on a wide-ranging review of scientific evidence, the ECHA Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) concludes that classifying glyphosate as a carcinogen is not justified.

Further, the committee found that the available scientific evidence did not meet the criteria to classify glyphosate for specific target organ toxicity, or as a mutagenic or reprotoxic substance.

RAC confirms the existing classifications for glyphosate which is consistent with the proposal of the four rapporteur Member States currently assessing glyphosate, Sweden, France, Hungary, and The Netherlands.

The GRG welcomes the RAC opinion and remains committed to complying with all aspects of the ongoing EU regulatory process for the reapproval of glyphosate in the EU in a transparent manner based on robust science.

Read the full GRG statement here.

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Useful information 

International Day of Plant Health

The UN has designated the 12th of May as the International Day of Plant Health to raise global awareness of how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect biodiversity and the environment, and boost economic development.
Healthy plants require fertile soils and protection from insect pests, fungal diseases, and weeds that will damage or compete with the plants.
Glyphosate has a role in contributing to plant health:

  • When used in accordance with the label instructions, glyphosate-based herbicides are safe and highly effective against difficult to control weeds as well as most of the weeds on the EU invasive alien species list of concern. It can be leveraged as an important tool to protect EU biodiversity against such invasive species.
  • Glyphosate-based herbicides can also foster healthier soils by reducing the need for tillage or ploughing, significantly increasing the number of nutrients and microbes contributing to plant health.

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The scientific dossier: public literature selection

According to the European Regulation for plant protection products ((EC) No 1107/2009), scientific peer-reviewed open literature on the active substance and all relevant transformation products (metabolites), published within the last ten years before the date of a renewal submission, have to be included in the dossier submitted by the applicant, subject to a dedicated evaluation process. 

Before the glyphosate dossier submission, all literature, including work dealing with side effects on health, the environment, and non-target species, was evaluated by the GRG’s experts for relevance and reliability of the reported findings following the defined and approved evaluation process to ensure that no relevant studies were missed. (See links to EFSA Guidance, and the Appendix on performing and presenting the literature search).

The whole public literature search, selection, and evaluation process of the > 12,000 initially considered scientific articles is transparently described in detail by the GRG in the dossier and was made available for the evaluating Member States and public review.

These lists are also available for download on the GRG website via this link as part of the GRG’s commitment to transparency.

Find out more

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GRG news 

The GRG at the 2022 International Grain Council (IGC) Conference

The 2022 International Grain Council (IGC) Conference that took place on 7 & 8 June 2022 in London brought together policymakers and private enterprises to share knowledge, expertise, and opinions on timely issues, such as addressing resilience to vulnerabilities in global food systems.

Several timely topics were discussed, including food security and trade, the future of carbon trading, sustainability criteria and trade policy, and much more. 

The GRG had an exhibition stand at the conference, where its representatives replied to the questions of the different stakeholders along the supply chain regarding glyphosate, the EU’s ongoing regulatory process of the evaluation of renewal of approval of glyphosate post-2022, and the GRG’s commitment to transparency and different communication tools.

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Website news 

The GRG website is now available in Greek

We are happy to announce the recent launch of the Greek GRG website.
The GRG website is now available in 9 languages, reflecting the GRG’s commitment to maximum transparency. 
Check out our English, French, German, Polish, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, and the newly launched Greek websites.

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Get in touch

Do you have any questions? 

You can visit our Frequently Asked Questions page or contact us via this link.

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