The European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Committee for risk assessment, RAC, has cleared the chemical compound glyphosate – the active ingredient in herbicides such as Monsanto’s Roundup line – from suspicions of being a human carcinogen. The decision backs earlier conclusions by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which in an analysis commissioned by the European Commission concluded in November 2015 that the chemical was unlikely to pose such a threat.

RAC said it would maintain the current harmonized classification of glyphosate as a substance causing serious eye damage and being toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects; however, it said the available scientific evidence was insufficient to classify the herbicide chemical a carcinogen, a mutagen or as toxic for reproduction.

The committee said its decision was based solely on the hazardous properties of the substance. It did not take into account the likelihood of exposure and thus did not address the risks of exposure. The risks posed by exposure will be considered, however, in the European Commission’s decision on whether to renew the approval of glyphosate as an active ingredient in crop protection chemicals.

After the content is reviewed, RAC will send its opinion to the Commission, and at the same time it will be made available on ECHA’s website. It will also be taken into account when the Commission and member states later this year decide on whether to renew glyphosate’s registration as an active substance in crop protection agents.

At the end of June 2016, the Commission temporarily extended glyphosate’s registration for 18 months, until the end of 2017. It exercised its authority to make the decision after its Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed again failed to produce a qualified majority for any type of action. Registration would have expired at the end of June after the 28-member committee backed away from initial plans to keep glyphosate on the market for another 15 more years. The European Parliament had recommended a seven-year renewal.

Concurrently with the temporary extension, the Commission also proposed restrictions on the use of glyphosate, potentially to include a ban on a co-formulant (POE-tallowamine) from glyphosate-based products, obligations to reinforce scrutiny of pre-harvest uses of the ingredient as well as minimizing the use in public parks and playgrounds. It is unclear whether these will still stand after the ECHA committee’s conclusions.

RAC said its classification of glyphosate as a non-carcinogen is based solely on the hazardous properties of the substance. It does not take into account the likelihood of exposure to the substance and therefore does not address the risks of exposure. The risks posed by exposure will be considered when the Commission votes on whether to renew the registration.

Comments on the ECHA committee’s opinion diverged along the usual fault lines. Sarah Mukherjee, CEO of the UK’s Crop Protection Association said the ruling “clearly showed” the Commission should now reauthorize the chemical for the standard 15-year period, adding that “glyphosate is, and always has been, safe.” Calling the chemical “an essential part of the farmer’s toolkit,” she said the debate “has never really been about safety, it has been hijacked and politicized.”  Germany’s agrochemical industry association also urged the Commission to renew the registration “as quickly as possible.”

Just two days before opinion was due to be announced, Greenpeace sent a letter to the ECHA’s executive director, Geert Dancet, claiming that two RAC members appeared to have a conflict of interest, according to ECHA’s own criteria, especially because they provided risk assessment consultancy services to the chemical industry.Dancet denied there was a conflict.

 Just as the ECHA opinion was due to be published, US rumors that Monsanto may have interfered in the US Environmental Protection Agency’s classification of glyphosate appeared to be confirmed. More details on that are expected to be forthcoming.