Italy removes the ban on herbicide glufosinate

The Italian Ministry of Health has removed the ban on glufosinate ammonium, the powerful herbicide produced by Bayer CropScience, which can be used in agriculture for another five years, until its authorization expires.

With the two decrees signed on the 26th and 27th of April 2012, the use of the active substance will be allowed up to 2017 for the weeding of important crops, especially grapevine, apple, pear, olive, and citrus, with the exception of some other uses, such as for wilting potato leaves and the weeding of seedbeds.

The Ministry had banned it under the Directive 2009/2/EC relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances, which classified glufosinate as toxic for reproduction and capable of producing damage to foetuses and, therefore, subject to a thorough assessment in terms of its impact on human health.

The precautionary suspension of the phytosanitary product "Basta 200", based on glufosinate ammonium, however, had not been approved by the EU Commission itself because, as for the substances already approved, it was necessary to await the renewal or the review of their approval.

Thus, in the meantime, the products based on this substance have been marketed in 20 European countries, including France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, and Belgium, provided that they were labelled with recommendations for use connected to risks.

In the last decade, the safety of the glufosinate ammonium, especially long term, has been brought into question also because, being associated with herbicide-tolerant genetically modified varieties, its use increased, rather than decreased, with the development of resistant weeds, when compared to traditional crops.

Recent toxicological studies have shown that glufosinate causes neurological, respiratory, and gastrointestinal damage as well as birth defects in mammals and humans. It also proved toxic to butterflies and a number of beneficial insects, including clam and oyster larvae and some freshwater fish, in particular the rainbow trout. It also inhibits beneficial soil bacteria and fungi.

Bayer CropScience acknowledges the risk of adverse effects on the reproductive system of mice, even if with very high doses of the active substance, but that such data cannot be transferred to humans, and that label recommendations need to be observed for the use approved by the European authorities.

In Europe, it will be prohibited as from October 1st 2017, being a highly toxic product.