The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ordered the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to release all of the secret carcinogenicity and toxicity pesticide industry studies on glyphosate to the general public, in a huge legal victory for public health protection.

The full ECJ press release, published Thursday, can be read below:

Glyphosate is a chemical product used in pesticides which are plant protection products and is one of the most widely used herbicides in the EU.

Glyphosate was included on the list of active substances for the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2012. That listing was temporarily extended until 31 December 2015. In view of the renewal of approval of the active substance glyphosate, Germany, as Rapporteur Member State, submitted to the Commission and to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) a ‘draft renewal assessment report’, published by EFSA on 12 March 2014.