HELSINKI, Finland, 12 November 2026 — The European Chemicals Agency's (ECHA) Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) has reaffirmed its position that glyphosate does not warrant classification as a carcinogen under European Union law, following a review of new research reporting increased cancer incidence in laboratory rats exposed to the widely used herbicide.
In its opinion, published on 9 November 2026, RAC identified uncertainties involving tumor diagnoses, experimental methods, and statistical analyses in the Ramazzini Institute's Global Glyphosate Study. The committee concluded that the findings did not justify changing its 2022 assessment.
European Commission Requested Review of New Cancer Evidence
The reassessment followed a regulatory process that began in October 2023, when the European Commission approached ECHA and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) after the Ramazzini Institute announced preliminary findings linking glyphosate exposure to early-life leukemia. Both agencies requested the underlying research data, but the Institute did not provide them at that time.
Following publication of the study in Environmental Health on 10 June 2025, the Commission requested the raw experimental data and details about the identity, composition, and origin of the tested chemicals and herbicide formulations.
Under a mandate issued on 26 June 2025, RAC was instructed to evaluate the new evidence against its May 2022 opinion. The mandate established a 15-month period for completing the assessment, beginning upon receipt of the available study data.
What the Ramazzini Study Found
The Global Glyphosate Study examined 1,020 Sprague–Dawley rats exposed from prenatal development through their lifetimes to glyphosate or two commercial herbicide formulations, Roundup Bioflow and RangerPro.
The researchers reported increased incidences of benign and malignant tumors, including leukemia and skin cancers. According to the study, some tumors occurred at relatively low exposure levels, while certain animals developed cancers earlier than expected.
The study's authors interpreted these findings as evidence of carcinogenic effects from glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides. They also reported that some tumor findings occurred only in animals exposed to the commercial formulations, which contain additional ingredients.
RAC Questions: Reliability of Tumor Findings
RAC acknowledged the study's substantial animal population and examination of early-life exposure but identified several limitations affecting its interpretation.
The committee questioned the reported leukemia diagnoses because they lacked supporting blood tests, bone marrow examinations, and other procedures used to confirm blood cancers.
RAC also raised concerns about the use of ethanol to preserve tissue samples, which the committee said could alter tissue structures and complicate tumor identification.
The committee considered some historical control data, used to compare tumor frequencies with those in earlier experiments, unsuitable because they were too old or came from laboratories using different methods.
RAC also observed that several reported cancers involved few animals and that tumor incidence did not consistently increase with exposure levels. Although some statistical analyses indicated significant effects, the committee considered the findings insufficiently consistent to establish a reliable relationship between glyphosate exposure and cancer.
EU Assessment Differs From IARC Classification
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A).
RAC reached a different conclusion in 2017 and reaffirmed it in 2022 after reviewing animal studies, human epidemiological evidence, and research into potential mechanisms of cancer development.
In those assessments, RAC found that reported tumor increases were inconsistent across studies, lacked reproducible dose-response relationships, or could not reliably be distinguished from background tumor incidence.
Under the EU Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation, RAC evaluates the collective scientific evidence to determine whether a substance meets the criteria for hazard classification. Following its review of the Ramazzini research, the committee concluded that the new study did not provide sufficient evidence to change its 2022 assessment of glyphosate's carcinogenicity.
Implications for Glyphosate Regulation in the EU
Glyphosate retains its existing classifications for causing serious eye damage (Category 1, H318) and being toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects (Aquatic Chronic Category 2, H411).
RAC's opinion does not change glyphosate's approval as an active substance in plant protection products, which the European Commission renewed in 2023. Chemical hazard classification under CLP and pesticide approval are separate regulatory processes.
ECHA has forwarded RAC's opinion to EFSA and the European Commission. The review was requested to help determine whether the Ramazzini findings affect the scientific assessments underlying glyphosate's 2023 approval renewal.
