The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Tuesday April 30 that glyphosate, a chemical used in many popular weed control products, is not a carcinogen, contrary to recent decisions by the US jury that found that it causes cancer in humans. .

The EPA announcement confirms the agency’s earlier findings on the safety of glyphosate, a key ingredient in Bayer Roundup.

"The Environmental Protection Agency continues to discover that when using glyphosate in accordance with its current labeling, there is no risk to public health and that glyphosate is not a carcinogen," the agency said in a statement.

Farmers spray glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in US agriculture, to plant soybeans and other crops that have been genetically engineered to withstand it. Roundup is also used by consumers on lawns, golf courses and other places.

Earlier, the EPA discovered the environmental risks associated with the chemical and proposed new measures to protect the environment from the use of glyphosate by farmers and reduce the problem of resistance to weeds.

However, critics of the chemical dispute the US Environmental Protection Agency's assurances. “Unfortunately, US consumers cannot trust the EPA's glyphosate safety rating,” said Nathan Donley, senior fellow at the Center for Biological Diversity environmental group.

In recent years, the debate on glyphosate safety has attracted the attention of regulatory authorities around the world, and in recent months in the US courtrooms.