Safety

Agriculture is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the world—and we support regulatory processes designed to demonstrate the safety of our products, because safety is also our top priority.

In the United States, for example, our pesticide products are governed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and follow a rigorous review process to evaluate their safety—a process called registration review—that is repeated at least every 15 years, taking into consideration any new data. For each pesticide it reviews, the U.S. EPA evaluates hundreds of different scientific studies during the registration and re-registration process, relying on the best science available and placing high value on transparency in decision-making.

During the process, the U.S. EPA may request studies and data from manufacturers, third parties and the public and takes findings and questions to independent expert panels such as the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel and the National Academy of Sciences.

The U.S. EPA assesses and evaluates the potential for:

• Harm to humans (including risk from short-term toxicity as well as long-term effects such as cancer and reproductive system disorders)
• Harm to wildlife, fish and plants; including endangered species and non-target organisms
• Contamination of surface water or ground water from leaching, runoff and spray drift

Regulator Spotlight: The European Food Safety Authority

In the European Union, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the regulatory agency in charge of scientific advice and risk assessment for pesticides. EFSA is responsible for the peer review of the risk assessment of active substances used in plant protection products. It is also responsible for the evaluation of Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) to ensure pesticide residues in food do not pose unacceptable risks to consumers. The evaluation of formulated plant protection products is carried out at national level by the regulatory authorities of EU Member States.

• For the evaluation and re-evaluation of active substances, a Rapporteur Member State is appointed to carry out the initial risk assessment. This assessment is then peer reviewed by EFSA together with all Member States. It is a transparent process with public consultations.
• This risk assessment is rigorous and active substances need to be proven safe for human health, animal health and the environment to meet the stringent approval criteria under EU regulation.
• The approval period is up to 15 years and active substances are systematically reviewed to ensure the latest scientific knowledge has been considered.
• Once EFSA risk assessment is complete, the approval decision goes to the European Commission and Member States as risk managers.

To learn more about EFSA’s thorough pesticide review process, visit EFSA’s website.

So, by the time a product gets to market, it has undergone rigorous review – at times multiple decades’ worth of scientific studies – and scrutiny by multiple government agencies as well as data from manufacturers, third parties like the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel and the National Academy of Sciences and the public.