Health Canada Wants to Increase Glyphosate in Food
Have your say by July 20th!
Issue
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is proposing to increase the amount of glyphosate (Roundup®) permitted in Canadian food. Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) may be doubled, tripled or almost quadrupled for oats and bran, lentils, peas and 25 types of beans such as chickpeas, kidney beans and pinto beans, as well as nuts (almonds, pecans and walnuts, mostly coming from the US).
Crop
Current MRL
(ppm)
Proposed MRL
(ppm)
Proposed Increase
Oats and bran
15
35
2.3 fold
Lentils
4
10
2.5 fold
Peas
5
10
2.0 fold
Beans
4
15
3.75 fold
Nuts
0.4 ppm
1
2.5 fold
Why? Farmers are using more glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs). This amounts to regulation of the status quo.
As weeds become resistant, higher herbicide …Read More
Corporate “Controllover” of Health Canada on Gene-Edited foods
Safe Food Matters’ Comments on Health Canada’s Proposed New Guidance on Novel Foods
Health Canada is the regulator of gene-edited foods, but in March, 2021 it proposed to hand this role over to industry. Safe Food Matters provided comments on the proposal, indicating the hand-over would amount to an “abdication” of regulatory authority, or an improper delegation of such authority. Relying on industry’s “safety determinations” is misguided because industry’s driving force is not safety but profit, and the hand-over may subject Health Canada to claims of regulatory negligence. Our short submission is here.
DELAY, DELAY … by the PMRA
PMRA delays deciding on chlorpyrifos, then delays ban for 3 years. Safe Food Matters and Prevent Cancer Now bring Court challenge.
A Health Canada agency is delaying the cancellation of the dangerous chemical, thereby exposing Canadians to continued harm. Chlorpyrifos is a hazardous neurotoxic pesticide, known for permanently damaging the brains of developing children.
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) didn’t cancel the chemical back in 2007 when it learned of the dangerous health risks, and it issued a cancellation statement only in May, 2021 – which allows continued “phase-out” use for another 3 years. The sales of this pesticide are consistently …Read More
Why is Glyphosate Still Allowed In Canada?
Because PMRA says it’s OK
You may have heard that glyphosate probably causes cancer, that it is being banned across the globe, and that Bayer, the maker of Roundup, is considering withdrawing this chemical from the retail market.
Yet Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency in 2017 issued a Re-evaluation Decision that allowed for continued use in Canada of this chemical until at least the 2030s.
Safe Food Matters says it’s not OK
We are Safe Food Matters Inc., and we have been using all legal avenues to object to and challenging this re-registration decision. We are the only Canadian group that directly issued …Read More
Health Canada bans #Chlorpyrifos
MEDIA STATEMENT: After Green-lighting Chlorpyrifos in December, #Health Canada Finally Plans to Put Brain-Wasting #Pesticide Out to Pasture (delaying action for years, following rulings in EU, and US Federal Court of Appeals)
TORONTO/OTTAWA – A network of health and environmental groups applaud Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) for finally moving to ban the toxic insecticide Chlorpyrifos, 53 years after it was first approved for use in Canada. The Agency quietly issued a three-year plan to ban late last week.
In December 2020, the PMRA extended some uses for several years, following its first full environmental review since entering the Canadian …Read More
Who we Are/Contact
Safe Food Matters Inc. is a Canadian non-profit corporation, founded in 2016, dedicated to safe food and a safe environment. We work to improve regulatory policies to better protect human health and the environment.
Our current topics are glyphosate, chlorpyrifos, and GM (genetically modified/edited products). To see our collections on a topic, click on the topic link above, in a post or on the sidebar.
We are going to court over Health Canada’s 2017 re-registration of glyphosate. Please help with legal costs by donating through direct transfer to safefoodmatters@gmail.com or through our GoFundMe link. Every little bit helps! Thanks.
Email: safefoodmatters@gmail.com
Website: safefoodmatters.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/safefoodmatters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/safefoodmatt
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/safefoodmatters/?hl=en
GoFundMe: gf.me/u/y4qsvc
Notice of Objection: Chlorpyrifos (Environment)
Notice of Objection Chlorpyrifos (Environment)
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (“PMRA”) of Health Canada recently re-registered chlorpyrifos for spraying on mosquitos, in buildings, around structures, on trees (mountain pines and elm) and on outdoor and greenhouse ornamental plants. This chemical is highly neurotoxic, banned in Europe, and has been proposed for addition to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
How did PMRA do this? By not conducting a valid evaluation of the chemical. It separated out the assessment of risks to the environment from the risks to human health, which is not a justified approach. Then in …Read More
La salubrité des aliments est importante, mais pas pour Santé Canada?
La salubrité des aliments est importante pour vous et moi, mais est-ce important pour Santé Canada? Nous ne sommes pas convaincus. Pourquoi pas? Nous avons été dans une bataille David contre Goliath avec eux depuis 2017 en ce qui concerne leur approche réglementaire vers la salubrité des aliments,, et avons deux observations de base. Premièrement, à notre avis, Santé Canada n’a pas respecté l’intention ou la lettre de la loi. Deuxièmement, la conduite du régulateur a posé problème.
Cet article fournit des détails sur ces deux points. En ce qui concerne le premier point, il explique comment, dans notre dossier, Santé …Read More
Backgrounder to appeal/ document d’information sur l’appel
Le Français suit
Canadian non-profit, founded in 2016, dedicated to protecting health and protecting the environment, with a focus on the safety of food production technologies.
Campaigns have included GM foods and synthetic biology.
Taking Health Canada to the Federal Court of Appeal over its risk assessment of glyphosate.
Who We Are
Context
Glyphosate (Roundup) was registered for use in Canada in 1976 as a weed killer.In the 2000s farmers started to spray it right onto growing crops to kill them. The goal was to “dry-down” or “desiccate” the crops for efficiency purposes: (1) the timing of harvest could be scheduled, and (2) crops wouldn’t be …Read More
SAFE FOOD MATTERS, BUT NOT TO HEALTH CANADA ?
BUT NOT TO HEALTH CANADA ?
Safe food matters to you and me, but does it matter to Health Canada? We aren’t convinced. Why not? We have been in a David vs. Goliath battle with them since 2017 regarding their regulatory approach to safe food, and have two basic observations. First, in our view, Health Canada hasn’t followed the intent or the letter of the law. Second, the conduct of the regulator has been problematic.
This article provides detail on these two points. With respect to the first point, it explains how on our file Health Canada did not conduct a strong …Read More
