UPDATE 2: GOVERNMENT PAUSES MRL INCREASES, AND WILL REVIEW PARTS OF THE ACT; BUT MORE IS NEEDED

On August 3, 2021, the Government of Canada announced it would pause proposed increases on Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) of pesticides, including MRLs for glyphosate. There was public outcry to the proposed increases, and the Ministers of Health, Environment and Climate Change and Agriculture and Agri-Food heard it.
The Government says it will review specific provisions of the Pest Control Product Act (the Act), including the initiation of the review process. Safe Food Matters, Prevent Cancer Now, Friends of the Earth and other NGOs have serious concerns with the way the Act has been managed for years by the Pest Management …Read More

UPDATE: Comment ’til Sept 3 on Glyphosate MRL increases

Health Canada/ PMRA has granted an extension for commenting on increased maximum residue limits in foods until September 3. The extension is because of “the level of interest and number of comments received to date” and COVID delays.  A significantly large number of comments were submitted by July 20, the initial deadline.
The extension and additional background are in this document, which should form the basis for any new comments: Consultation on Glyphosate, Proposed Maximum Residue Limit PMRL2021-10 – Canada.ca.
Please submit comments to: E-mail: hc.pmra.publications-arla.sc@canada.ca  Please share with SafeFoodMatters@gmail.com and Info@PreventCancerNow.ca
Here is the initial post and detail on the Proposal. Look …Read More

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

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

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

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

safe food matters appeals decision

Safe Food Matters Inc. is appealing the Federal Court judgement that allows the decision of Health Canada to renew glyphosate to stand. The appeal was filed on March 13 at the Federal Court of Appeal. 
“We think the wrong legal test was applied in the case, and that the decision-making of Health Canada on the file was not reasonable,” said Mary Lou McDonald, President of Safe Food Matters.  
The case goes back to 2017, when Health Canada re-registered glyphosate for use in Canada.  Eight groups objected and asked for an independent review panel, and in 2019 Health Canada responded with no.  SFM …Read More