WHO
EPA had little role in WHO glyphosate decision, says McCarthy
EPA chief Gina McCarthy told lawmakers that the agency played no major role in the decision by the WHO's cancer agency to list glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world, as probably carcinogenic to humans, said DTN. The House Science Committee has questioned the classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and whether the IARC is skewing EPA's current review of the herbicide.
Good news for coffee drinkers—WHO agency says no conclusive cancer risk
An exhaustive review of research finds no conclusive evidence of a risk of cancer from drinking coffee, said the International Agency for Research on Cancer in its first look at the hot drink since 1991, when it found a weak link to cancer of the bladder. On the five-point scale used by the WHO agency, the only lower rating than "not classifiable" for coffee is "probably not carcinogenic."
House panel looks for skulduggery in glyphosate analyses
In a letter to EPA head Gina McCarthy, the House Science Committee says it has "concerns about the integrity" of a WHO-agency review that rated the weedkiller glyphosate as probably carcinogenic in humans. And it wants to know what influence is being exercised on the EPA's review of the chemical by the U.S. scientists who took part in the international review.
Consensus lacking, EU considers short extension of glyphosate license
Because member states disagree, the European Commission, the administrative arm of the EU, will ask for a short-term extension of the license allowing the use of glyphosate while safety studies of the weedkiller are completed, said Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis.
IARC takes a new look at its rating of coffee as possible carcinogen
Coffee is one of the favorite beverages of the western world. It also has been rated since 1991 as "possibly carcinogenic to the human urinary bladder" by the WHO's cancer agency, which will open a week-long review of coffee, mate and "very hot beverages" on Tuesday.
Scratch that: WHO and UN say glyphosate not carcinogenic after all
Two days before the EU is set to vote on whether to relicense the pesticide glyphosate, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization have decided that the chemical is “unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans from exposure through the diet,” reports The Guardian.
Monsanto claims vindication, EPA says ‘not yet’
The world's largest seed company, Monsanto, is counting the EPA as the third major regulator to determine that glyphosate, the weedkiller used in combination with its GMO hybrids, is safe for humans. The herbicide has been under scrutiny since the WHO's cancer agency classified it in March 2015 as probably carcinogenic to humans.
In a switch, EU to delay decision on glyphosate extension
Two EU sources told Reuters the 28-nation bloc is unlikely at a meeting this week to approve use of the weedkiller glyphosate through 2031. That is an about-face from expectations when the two-day meeting of experts opened on Monday.
EU expected to extend approval of glyphosate for 15 years
Experts from the 28 nations of the European Union "appear set to endorse a European Commission proposal to extend authorization of glyphosate for 15 years, until 2031," said Reuters.
Hog prices plunge after WHO cancer risk rating
U.S. hog prices are the lowest in six years, with the swift drop in market prices following the rating by the WHO's cancer research agency of processed meats such as bacon and ham as "carcinogenic to humans," says Purdue economist Chris Hurt.
Petition would eliminate processed meat from school lunch
A doctors' group petitioned the USDA for the second time in six years to remove processed meats such as hot dogs from the school lunch program to "create carcinogen-free cafeterias." The 12,000-member Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine filed the petition a day after a WHO agency declared processed meat a carcinogen and that red meat is probably carcinogenic to humans.
Glyphosate and GMOs, tied together in food debates
"It's inevitable that glyphosate is all wound up in GMOs," writes Tamar Haspel in the Washington Post. Many of the strains of GMO crops on the market were designed to tolerate the herbicide, so the crops survive when the chemical is sprayed in fields to kill weeds.
California to list glyphosate as ‘known to cause cancer’
A state environmental agency in California says it intends to list glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world, "as known to the state to cause cancer" under the so-called Proposition 65 law.
New review needed of glyphosate safety, says NEJM column
In a column in the New England Journal of Medicine, two scientists called for a new U.S. safety assessment of glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world, said Reuters.
German agency backs safety of glyphosate
The widely used herbicide glyphosate "could get a new life in Europe after being deemed safe by a key assessment largely based on classified industry papers," says the Guardian.
WHO cancer agency to assess red meat in October
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a WHO agency, plans a meeting from Oct. 6-13 in Lyon, France, to discuss red meat and processed meat.
FDA proposes more Nutrition Facts details for added sugars
The government proposed that the Nutrition Facts label should say what percentage an item would provide of the recommended daily amount of added sugar to the diet.
WHO agency says 2,4-D weedkiller is “possibly carcinogenic”
The weedkiller 2,4-D is "possibly carcinogenic to humans," says the International Agency for Research of Cancer, the same WHO agency that classified glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world, as probably carcinogenic.
Project would accelerate development of bird flu vaccine for humans
Drugmaker Sinergium Biotech, based in Argentina, will lead a project to accelerate the development of a human vaccine against the H5N1 avian flu virus, said the World Health Organization and the Medicines Patent Pool on Monday. The project is aimed at pharmaceutical companies in low- and middle-income nations and intended to bolster pandemic preparedness worldwide.