APVMA concludes glyphosate does not pose a cancer risk to humans

October 13, 2016 | 09:00

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The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has completed its assessment of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) report on glyphosate and other recent assessments and has concluded that glyphosate does not pose a cancer risk to humans when used in accordance with the label instructions.

Given the APVMA’s conclusive findings, there are no grounds to place glyphosate under formal reconsideration. The full proposed regulatory position report is available on the APVMA website.

The APVMA evaluated the IARC report and other contemporary scientific assessments as part of an established chemical review nomination process. The weight-of-evidence evaluation included a commissioned review of the IARC monograph by the federal Department of Health and risk assessments undertaken by expert international bodies and regulatory agencies. This review by the Department of Health was conducted in two phases.

The APVMA is inviting comments and suggestions on the scientific justification for the proposed regulatory position on glyphosate. Comments on this report will be assessed by the APVMA (and partner agencies where required) before the Final Regulatory Position Report is published. CropLife Australia will be engaging with the CropLife Crop Protection Committee and making a submission to the proposed regulatory position report accordingly.

The APVMA’s conclusion builds on numerous assessments of glyphosate by other regulators around the world, including by the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), and most recently the New Zealand’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). All concluding that glyphosate was unlikely to cause cancer in humans.

Reports claiming that glyphosate has been banned in some countries are incorrect; to date, no international regulator has banned the use of glyphosate in any country following the IARC re-classification.

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