In debates over glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide which has become a focal point of controversy in the EU in recent months, European legislators called for restrictions on pre-harvest use of the herbicide.

Industry groups, including the NFU, have defended use of glyphosate as a desiccant immediately before harvest as an energy saving method, but in April MEPs recommended banning the practice, which campaigners fear is increasing the public’s exposure to glyphosate residues. At the end of June, when EU approval for glyphosate was due to expire, and after eleventh hour talks on a temporary relicensing deal between member state ministers ended in deadlock, the European Commission opted to push ahead with the license renewal.

The controversy surrounding glyphosate stems from its classification as a human carcinogen by the World Health Organisation’s cancer research agency IARC in spring 2015. The classification has been contested by herbicide manufacturers and the EU Commission’s health watchdog EFSA. The differing scientific opinions have led to a spat between the different camps over the transparency and real-world validity of risk assessment science; EFSA had access to industry studies which were not available to IARC, though IARC’s study looked at glyphosate products as they are found on the market, whereas EFSA’s only dealt with the glyphosate compound in isolation.

As a result of the Commission’s executive decision to relicense glyphosate for 18 months, the EU advises that pre-harvest spraying of glyphosate on food crops should be restricted, but in reality it’s up to individual member states to decide whether or not to implement the recommendation.

As harvest gets underway in the UK, organic farming organisation the Soil Association has written to all major UK bread companies and supermarkets to ask that they act on pre-harvest glyphosate use in their supply chains.

In a letter to bread companies seen by Farming Online, Soil Association Policy Director Peter Melchett writes, “In view of the controversy surrounding the safety of glyphosate, the Soil Association is calling again for bread manufacturers and flour millers to insist on a glyphosate-free supply of UK cereals destined for human consumption, as there is still time to achieve this before this year's harvest begins.”

Melchett says that, though it pushed ahead with a renewal in June, the Commission has made it clear that it supports three important curbs on glyphosate use, which were initially recommended by the European Parliament, including “obligations to reinforce scrutiny of pre-harvest uses of glyphosate.”

On 11th July, EU member states voted to accept limitations on the use of glyphosate, including cracking down on pre-harvest use and ‘minimising’ spraying in public parks. Enrico Brivio, Commission spokesperson for Health and Food Safety confirmed, “The member states today [11.07.2016] voted in favor of a proposal by the Commission to restrict the conditions of use of glyphosate in the EU.”