FDA Halts Testing of Glyphosate, A Possible Carcinogen
Government testing of residues from glyphosate--an herbicide that kills weeds and has been linked to cancer by the World Health Organization--has been put on hold by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In recent years, the presence of pesticides in foods has become a top concern for American consumers.
After the FDA was called out by the U.S. Government Accountability Office for not including glyphosate in annual testing programs, the agency began analyzing certain foods for residues left behind by glyphosate--regarded as the most widely used herbicide in the world. The FDA’s “special assignment” only started in February 2016. Testing was put on hold because establishing a standard methodology to implement across the FDA’s multiple U.S. laboratories was a source of much confusion and disagreement. There were reportedly also problems with some of the labs’ equipment, specifically the lack of more sensitive instruments.