19 September: The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a press release stating that it will consider the results of a recent study that investigates the potential toxicity of glyphosate used as a herbicide and of a glyphosate-tolerant variety of genetically modified (GM) maize.

The press release notes that EFSA will consider the paper as part of its ongoing monitoring of scientific developments in areas relevant for its work, including scientific evidence from studies that assess the potential toxicity of foods derived from GM crops.

The study, titled “long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant GM maize,” was published in the peer-reviewed journal Food and Chemical Toxicology. The authors found that rats fed with GM maize tolerant to glyphosate (known as Roundup), cultivated with or without Roundup, and Roundup alone tended to die earlier than rats fed on a standard diet because of tumours and other health defects. [EFSA Press Release][Study Abstract]