Results of a new animal study into possible health risks of the weedkiller glyphosate will be published in time to inform a key EU re-licensing vote due by the end of 2017, according to the researcher leading the trial.
A row over possible effects of glyphosate - an ingredient in Monsanto's big-selling herbicide Roundup - has forced a delay in Europe to a decision on whether it should be banned or re-licensed for sale.
Giving details and preliminary findings of the latest study to Reuters, Italian scientist Fiorella Belpoggi said experimental rats exposed to the herbicide at levels equivalent to those allowed in humans showed no initial adverse reaction.
'No evident differences'
"Exposed animals had no evident differences from non-exposed animals," Belpoggi, who is director of the Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Centre at the Ramazzini Institute in Italy, said in a telephone interview with Reuters.
"But this tells us very little at the moment, because the examinations of key parameters that could be affected by exposure are still being done (and) we are waiting for those results," Belpoggi added.
Those parameters include any genetic changes, as well as potential toxic effects on measures related to fertility, such as sperm, embryo development and offspring growth, she said.
Five laboratories
The study involves scientists working at five laboratories, Belpoggi's and one other in Italy, and three outside the country.
"This was to ensure we would have the best experts analyze each end point," Belpoggi said. The study is funded by the Ramazzini Institute, a research cooperative of around 28,000 members who are its co-owners and raise funds for its work.
Using laboratory rodents known as Sprague Dawley rats, the researchers exposed them to low levels of glyphosate and its formulation Roundup in their diet, equivalent to U.S. Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) levels permitted in humans.
IARC and Ramazzini defend the independence of their work and say their research is conducted to the highest scientific standards.
Full results should be available by June, Belpoggi said.
