Safety
Making sure our products are safe – for people, animals and the environment – is our top priority
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.
Today’s advanced pesticides have to meet stringent government standards – and undergo more than a decade of testing and review by multiple agencies – to prove that they are safe for human and animal health as well as the environment when used as intended.
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 confirm 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. Even after regulatory approval, the safety monitoring continues, and unintended effects must be reported to regulators.
During the process, the U.S. EPA may receive and review studies and information from manufacturers, third parties and the public and take findings and questions to independent expert panels such as the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel and the National Academy of Sciences. 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.
The U.S. EPA assesses and evaluates safety risk to humans, animals or the environment now and over time. including:
- Human safety for all ages
- Water protection - surface water or ground water from leaching, runoff and spray drift
- Food safety
- Potential impacts to domestic animals as well as wildlife and their habitats
- How products protect crops, how they break down and how long it lasts in the environment
A single crop protection product takes an average of 12 years to develop and gain regulatory approval; a biotech trait takes almost 16 years; and a new seed product can take seven years.
Learn more about the regulatory processRegulator 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. EFSA strives for 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 pesticide review process, visit EFSA’s website.
Health Canada
The Health Canada Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is responsible for pesticide regulation in Canada. The PMRA uses a comprehensive body of scientific methods and evidence to determine the nature as well as the magnitude of potential risks posed by pest control products (pesticides). Pesticides are stringently regulated in Canada to ensure they pose minimal risk to human health and the environment.
Health Canada scientists rigorously review tests and studies to examine the potential risks posed to health and the environment to determine if the product is acceptable for use in Canada and will not harm humans and the environment – a process that can take several years to complete. Health Canada also consults with its international counterparts to determine if similar decisions were made as a result of their scientific review of the same product.
All products are re-evaluated on a 15-year cycle to ensure they meet the latest health and environmental risk assessment standards. If at any time new information indicates that a pesticide could pose unacceptable risks, the information will be evaluated and appropriate action will be taken immediately.
To learn more about Health Canada’s pesticide review process, visit Health Canada’s website.
A Review Process for Every Country
Pesticides have to comply with the regulations of every country in which they are manufactured, used, or sold. This means some pesticides have to meet the standards of more than 100 different regulatory agencies around the world.
The reviews are designed to test, and retest, and test again, what impact, if any, the active ingredients in the products have on human, animal and environmental health. The products themselves are critical because, simply put, they help farmers grow more food (and fuel), to help feed a growing world. For example, American farmers produce 300% more per acre today than they did 70 years ago, allowing hundreds of millions of acres to remain out of production, which in turn delivers significant energy, biodiversity and climate benefits.
Are registered products safe? When used as directed, the safety of 2,4-D has been validated by more than 90 regulatory bodies around the world charged with protecting human health and the environment, alongside thousands of scientists.
Some of our active ingredients, like 2,4-D, have a recognized safety profile that goes back decades. There are more than 4,000 peer-reviewed, published studies and articles on 2,4-D. Utilizing this scientific literature, regulatory authorities around the world have concluded that 2,4-D may be safely used as directed – meaning when used according to the label by farmers to control weeds.
We are proud of our track record.
- In the U.S., Reklemel®, our first-of-its-kind, selective nematicide product, is one of the first new active ingredients to be registered under EPA’s updated policy incorporating Endangered Species Act (ESA) assessments into the pesticide registration process.
- Our Enlist® herbicides are the first pesticides to successfully complete the comprehensive ESA Risk Assessment and Consultation process, following the EPA’s new evaluation framework for ESA.
- Corteva has won six Green Chemistry Challenge Awards presented by the U.S. EPA – more than any other agricultural company. The award is given to companies or institutions that develop new chemical products or processes that help to reduce or eliminate the generation of hazardous substances in the environment.
And we've made a public commitment that every newly developed Corteva product must meet our stringent sustainability criteria, which are aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.