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Glyphosate herbicides are often sprayed on potato crops prior to harvest to
 ‘dessicate’ the plants’ green leaves.
Photo: David Wright via Flickr.

The widely used herbicide glyphosate has been judged ‘safe’, write Pete Farrer & Marianne Falck. But by the time it’s used, it’s in a ‘formulation’ with toxic surfactants, which escape EU regulation despite their known dangers. Germany alone has forbidden the use of the most dangerous surfactant – but is keeping its evidence secret.

Earlier this year, Germany declared the active substance glyphosate, a component of many herbicides, as ‘safe’ in its draft re-assessment report.

Germany’s words have weight as it is acting as the Rapporteur Member State for this active substance. But an investigation into the report has exposed another story – it is far from ‘safe’.

It is well known that glyphosate is one of the most tested active substances, and is seen as a simple and cost-effective way of controlling weeds in a variety of situatuions.

Glyphosate is the active substance in the most widely used herbicide worldwide called RoundUp®, sales were valued at US$ 5.46 bn in 2012 and are expected to reach US$ 8.79bn [i] by 2019; it is big business.

However, the active substance alone is not sprayed by farmers, councils or ‘you’ in gardens and driveways. Because to work efficiently, it needs additional chemicals called ‘surfactants’.

A shocking omission

The widespread use of glyphosate greatly increases the chances that it will be ingested by humans and farm animals. It is now used to desiccate cereal, pulse and oilseed crops prior to harvest – where it produces residues in some of our staple foods [ii]

It is also used extensively on GM crops engineered to be ‘Roundup Ready’. This does not (yet) take place in the EU, however such crops dominatye in North and South America and account much of the soy and maize imported to the EU for animal feed.

But whilst active substances are tested and regulated on a European level, pesticide formulations, such as Roundup®, are not.

Because of an initial suspicion [iii] that the surfactant called POEA (polyethoxylated tallow amine) might be toxic for humans, animals and the environment, the German authorities have taken their own protective action.

In the meantime, the EU has failed to take any action at all.
“Given the alarming results of independent studies [iv], this is simply shocking”, says Martin Häusling, Member of the Greens / European Free Alliance Group.

“Even though I have been criticising The European Food and Safety Authority for many years because of its conflict of interest with the agricultural industry, it would be wrong to blame them alone. The national authorities play a big role in this process.”

But in Germany, things are different

Since the late 1990’s, the German Federal Institute for Health Protection of Consumers and Veterinary Medicine (BgVV) has called upon Member States in the European Union not to accept glyphosate products containing the surfactant POEA based on the high cytotoxicity [v] of the compounds.