Today, Bayer marks the first anniversary of its Transparency Initiative, designed to enhance trust in the science behind crop protection products. As another important milestone in the company’s efforts to make science more accessible, Bayer is making available more than 300 study summaries on the safety of glyphosate on its dedicated transparency platform.
“Trust in the integrity of crop protection science is core to us and our business,” says Liam Condon, member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and President of the Crop Science Division. “The public is interested in knowing more about how their food is grown and what products are involved in the production of food. Crop protection products are used by farmers to protect harvests from disease, pests and weeds. As one of the leaders in agriculture, we have been working diligently to make studies on crop protection substances available beyond regulatory requirements. We want to explain the benefits that science and innovation can deliver in agriculture while championing what’s important to people: safe, healthy and affordable food that is produced in an environmentally sustainable manner. Improving access to the science behind our products is a key part of our Transparency Initiative.”
Similar to the other substances included within its Transparency Initiative, Bayer is focusing on safety studies submitted under the European Union (EU) substance authorization process for plant protection products. On the website you can find the study summaries for studies on residues and metabolism (18), environmental fate (32), toxicology (180), and ecotoxicology (88) on the active substance as well as representative formulations. More information can be found on the FAQ page.
Access to the much more extensive underlying safety study reports will be enabled in 2019; this will include those owned by Bayer and submitted for the review that led to the European substance authorization renewal decision in December 2017.
The Science Behind the Safety of Glyphosate
Over the last 40 years, glyphosate and glyphosate-based formulations have been extensively evaluated for human health and safety. Most of this scientific research on glyphosate was conducted by independent researchers.
For additional research conducted on glyphosate, visit the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) and the glyphosate task force. Background information on glyphosate and its history as a safe and efficient weed control tool for farmers around the world is also available here.