Glyphosate considered no health risk by Swiss authorities
Protestors gathered in front of the agri-chemical company Syngenta in the Swiss city of Basel two years ago. The firm is a leading producer of the weed killer glyphosate.
Keystone
The widely used weedkiller glyphosate is no health risk for consumers in Switzerland, according to the government.
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Glifosato: Gobierno suizo no impondrá interdicción
It said a report by the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office found the residue of glyphosate in produce was low and did not pose a risk.
In its statement, published on Wednesday, the government agreed with the European Union and other international organisations on the issue.
Last year, the Swiss parliament threw out calls from environmental and consumer groups to ban the use of all synthetic chemical pesticides, including glyphosate.
Swiss voters are likely to have the final say on a proposal to cut subsidies to framers using pesticide.
+ The initiative that tackles the use of pesticide and anti-biotics
The EU has granted a temporary extension for the weedkiller, but Swiss farmers are not allowed to use it ahead of a harvest period.
The Swiss study is based on more than 240 samples from food in retail shops: 60% of them were glyphosate-free; the others contained traces of the pesticide below the risk level, according to the food safety authorities.
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No Swiss ban for weed-killer glyphosate
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The House of Representatives has rejected a petition from various organisations such as Greenpeace and the Consumers’ Association for French-speaking Switzerland, which have been calling for a ban on the use of all synthetic chemical pesticides, such as the weed-killer ingredient glyphosate. A majority of parliamentarians said on Friday there was insufficient scientific evidence to…
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