On the eve of the expiration of the extended authorization granted to glyphosate, without a new risk assessment, Foodwatch reports that 33 percent of pesticides in use are in the same condition as the world’s most widely used herbicide. And it calls for a reform of the European agrotoxics authorization procedure.
135 pesticides in use without risk assessment
The consumer organization conducted a survey showing that authorization for 135 pesticides out of a total of 455 currently authorized in the EU had expired, but had been renewed over and over again for years without EFSA completing a new safety assessment. (1)
Emblematic is the case of glyphosate. A five-year extension granted on 5.11.17 will expire in mid-December. (2) And the European Commission is determined to extend it for another year, although the EFSA evaluation will not be available until July 2023. (3)
Late bans
This reckless concession in extension of pesticide use is a mode widely practiced to the detriment of public health. Foodwatch recalls the case of the insecticide Fosmet, which is very popular in orchards.
The permit that expired on 9/30/17 was extended for 5 years. In November 2022, EFSA sanctioned the ‘unacceptable risk’ of Fosmet finally banned. A risk to which the population was subjected for those additional 5 years of extension.
Poisons in extension
On the blacklist of pesticides in use today thanks to the extension are widespread agrotoxics, despite evidence of toxicity. Two examples:
– the herbicide Flufenacet, whose metabolites contaminate groundwater. Its authorization expired in 2012, 10 years ago,
– The insecticide deltamethrin, which is neurotoxic. The approval has been repeatedly extended since 2013, even though the insecticide has been labeled by the EU as a so-called ‘candidate for substitution,’ a classification that in light of the molecule’s hazardousness should instead provide for a shorter approval period.
Urgent reform
The current pesticide licensing system must be urgently reformed, warns Foodwatch, which makes four demands.
1 – It is necessary to provide for an increase in authorization fees charged to pesticide producers so that the EU authorities in charge can conduct risk assessment in time.
2 – Current extension periods should be subtracted from the approval period if a pesticide is approved again.
3 – All pesticides not evaluated by EFSA according to the risk assessment rules established by Reg. 1107/2009/EC should be immediately withdrawn from the market.
4 – The EU needs to establish a coherent and effective pesticide exit strategy. The goal must be pesticide-free EU agriculture on 80 percent of soils (arable and permanent) by 2030 and total elimination by 2035.
A few months ago, Foodwatch pointed out a concrete pesticide exit strategy, crop by crop. (4) And its strategy director, Matthias Wolfschmidt, effectively dismantled Europeanagribusiness ‘ blackmail that pesticides are needed to feed the world. (5)
Notes
(1) Foodwatch. Glyphosate: just the tip of the iceberg. https://foodwatch.org/fileadmin/-INT/pesticides/2022-11-18_Pesticides_approval_reform.pdf
(2) Dario Dongo. Glyphosate, the Berlin zoo. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 29.11.7
(3) Gerardo Fortuna, Paula Andrés. Commission to temporarily re-approve glyphosate without member states’ go-ahead. Euractiv. 15.11.22 https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/commission-to-temporarily-re-approve-glyphosate-without-member-states-go-ahead/
(4) Foodwatch. Report 2022. Locked-in pesticides. June 2022. https://www.foodwatch.org/fileadmin/-INT/pesticides/2022-06-30_Pesticides_Report_foodwatch.pdf
(5) Foodwatch, stop pesticides with the blackmail of hunger. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 1.10.22.
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
