EPA Announces Glyphosate Safety Review Efforts, Decision Expected by Early 2027; Experts Question Scientific Rigor
Need to Know
- EPA is currently reassessing the safety of glyphosate after a federal court vacated the agency’s previous decision that the chemical is not carcinogenic in 2022, on the basis that EPA did not adequately consider whether glyphosate causes cancer
- EPA and HHS announced an MOU intended to strengthen the review, including evaluation of relevant peer-reviewed research and identification of consequential data gaps, with expected completion by early 2027
- Center for Food Safety Science Director Bill Freese said EPA has already determined that the majority of identified independent studies do not qualify for consideration, and raised concerns about reliance on industry-commissioned data for the new safety decision
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto–Bayer’s Roundup herbicide and a widely used agricultural chemical, has become a growing topic of debate in recent years. Legal battles have challenged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) safety assessment of the herbicide and the agency’s ability to preempt state warning laws for pesticides; a February 2026 Trump Administration Executive Order urged increased glyphosate production in the interest of national security; and new literature has emerged suggesting glyphosate exposure could increase the risk of certain cancers, while a hallmark glyphosate safety study, which has been a cornerstone for product approvals since the early 2000s, was redacted. (It is worth noting that the EU recently reviewed the aforementioned new literature suggesting that glyphosate causes certain cancers and stood by its decision that the chemical is not carcinogenic).
EPA is currently reassessing the safety of glyphosate after a federal court vacated the agency’s previous decision that the chemical is not carcinogenic in 2022, siding with the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and allies. The plaintiffs argued that EPA did not adequately consider whether glyphosate causes cancer (specifically, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, survivors and families of which have sued Monsanto–Bayer for causing en masse). The court agreed with CFS and ordered EPA to reevaluate the safety of glyphosate and deliver a new decision.
Human Health Safety Decision Expected by Early 2027, EPA–HHS MOU Announced
In this context, on September 22, EPA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen the review of glyphosate. According to EPA, as part of its registration review for glyphosate, the agency will “systematically evaluate relevant peer-reviewed research … and address in the registration review record those it determines to be relevant and of sufficient quality.” In accordance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the agency’s human health risk assessment should consider dietary and occupational exposure to glyphosate-based formulations, including the available cancer, genotoxicity, reproductive, and developmental evidence.
As part of the MOU, a working group will help EPA identify consequential data gaps that may warrant additional research, testing, or monitoring, including emerging areas such as the microbiome.
EPA said the updated human health risk assessment and its evaluation of glyphosate’s carcinogenic potential is expected to be completed in early 2027—a deadline that has been extended several times since the 2022 court order.
In response to a question from Food Safety Magazine about how the EPA–HHS MOU specifically strengthens the ongoing glyphosate reassessment in comparison to the typical pesticide review process, an EPA spokesperson said, "Under FIFRA, EPA reexamines registered pesticides on a recurring cycle against the best available science. That process doesn't change. What this agreement adds is a formal framework for bringing HHS' scientific expertise and research capacity directly into EPA's glyphosate review."
The agency representative added, "In a typical registration review, EPA evaluates the existing scientific record and published literature. This MOU goes further in a few specific ways," before reiterating the main points from its official press release about the agreement, previously outlined in this article.
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EPA Has So Far Disqualified Nearly 80 Percent of Independent Studies on Glyphosate Safety
CFS Science Director Bill Freese told Food Safety Magazine that EPA is currently in the process of “weeding out” scientific studies identified in its literature review, marking the first steps of its safety reassessment. Of the more than 5,000 independent studies identified, EPA has already determined that 78 percent do not qualify for consideration, and it is likely that the agency will continue to rule out more.
In an EPA document outlining the agency's systemic literature review from its 2017 reassessment of glyphosate, which was reviewed by Food Safety Magazine, reasons listed for rejecting studies included "test substance was a glyphosate-based commercial formulation," "no information provided on inert ingredients," and "other formulation components were not identified." In plain language, these reasons that EPA cited for disqualifying literature included the use of commercial glyphosate formulations rather than glyphosate alone and not disclosing the exact makeup of a formulation. Mr. Freese called these criteria "overly stringent," explaining that the use of glyphosate in isolation is not reflective of real-world conditions and the details of a commercial formulation are proprietary information.
By ruling out the majority of independent studies on glyphosate safety, Mr. Freese projected, EPA could almost entirely rely on studies commissioned by pesticide registrants, raising concerns about conflicts of interest and scientific rigor.
Mr. Freese also suggested that, with the delivery of a new human health risk assessment expected by early 2027, there is not enough time for the newly announced EPA–HHS MOU to be scientifically meaningful.
