TerraChem team members sign open letter against relaxation of pesticide regulations

More than 570 scientists have asked the European Parliament to suspend its consideration of the relaxation of pesticide regulations. They ask for an independent investigation into the OMNIBUS proposal, in particular in relation to its potential health and environmental impacts, to be carried out first.

The letter targets the Food and Feed Safety Omnibus, a European legislative package intended to streamline a range of rules relating to food, animal feed, and agriculture. According to the Commission, businesses and public authorities now suffer from an abundance of administrative burdens.

The proposal includes relaxation of the rules governing, in particular, the re-evaluation of pesticides. This periodic re-evaluation is, however, essential to ensure continued compliance with the safety standards expected by society, according to Martina Vijver, Leiden University Professor of Ecotoxicology and initiator of the letter.

A total of 573 scientists from 23 different countries have signed the open letter, addressed to the European Parliament. This includes experts in the field of ecotoxicology, among whom many TerraChem team members, but also experts from other fields such as ecology, law, and public health.

Read the full article about the letter on Leiden University’s website.