Retraction of the landmark glyphosate safety publication by Williams, Kroes and Munro (2000) should be reversed

Authors

  • Christopher J. Borgert Applied Pharmacology & Toxicology, Inc., Gainesville, FL, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2981-9012
  • Mohammad Abdollahi Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0123-1209
  • Jay M. Ansell Principal, Bellevue Toxicology LLC, Alexandria VA, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6181-6431
  • Michael Aschner Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2619-1656
  • Christopher A. Bates H.B. Fuller, Saint Paul, MN, USA https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9309-5327
  • Colin Berry Prof. (emeritus) of Pathology, Queen Mary, London, UK https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6880-2497
  • Brad Bolon GEMpath, Inc., Longmont, CO, USA [Sr. Advisor to the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Toxicologic Pathology, President and Pathologist] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6065-1492
  • Peter J. Boogaard Division of Toxicology – AFSG, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands [Editor-in-Chief of Critical Reviews in Toxicology, Professor of Environmental Health & Human Biomonitoring] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6964-6681
  • Robert A. Budinsky The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI, USA [retired]
  • Lyle D. Burgoon Raptor Pharm & Tox, Ltd. Apex, NC, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4977-5352
  • Gary Burin Technology Sciences Group, Inc., Vienna, VA, USA [retired] https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6381-0521
  • James S. Bus Exponent, Inc., Wendell, NC, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1420-4384
  • Harvey Clewell Science to Support Regulatory Activities, Ramboll Americas Engineering Solutions, Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2253-9045
  • Samuel M. Cohen Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5047-0962
  • Thomas Colnot EUROTOX, CiS Toxicology, Osorno, Chile
  • Paul S. Darby MD PhD Services, PLLC, Tacoma, WA, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6621-9484
  • Wolfgang Dekant Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Würzburg, Germany [Prof. (emeritus) of Toxicology] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6292-6138
  • John DeSesso Exponent, Inc., Alexandria, VA, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3134-4207
  • Daniel R. Dietrich Department of Human and Environmental Toxicology, University of Konstanz, Germany [Prof. (emeritus) of Toxicology] https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0416-3811
  • Mirjana Djukic University of Belgrade - Faculty of Pharmacy, Department for Toxicology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0177-1205
  • Anca Oana Docea Department of Toxicology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Craiova, Romania https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8162-5955
  • Jose L. Domingo Universitat Rovira i Virgili, School of Medicine, Reus, Spain [Distinguished Prof. (emeritus) of Toxicology] https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6647-9470
  • David L. Eaton University of Washington, Seattle, WA [President, Academy of Toxicological Sciences, Prof. (emeritus) School of Public Health; Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology, R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA] https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3121-1380
  • Jeffery A. Engelhardt Vice President of Pathology and Nonclinical Development, Ionis, Carlsbad, CA, USA [retired] https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8873-6626
  • Anne Fairbrother Exponent, Inc., Philomath, OR, USA [retired] https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4463-661X
  • Allan Felsot Department of Entomology & Environmental Toxicology, Washington State University, Richland, WA, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8169-9487
  • Penelope A. Fenner-Crisp Environmental Protection Agency, Charlottesville, VA, USA [retired]
  • Robinan Gentry Science to Support Regulatory Activities, Ramboll Americas Engineering Solutions, Inc., Monroe, LA, USA
  • Jay I. Goodman Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Institute for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA [Prof. (emeritus)]
  • Gio B. Gori The Health Policy Center, Bethesda, MD, USA [Editor-in-Chief (emeritus) of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology (2002 - 2009)] https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9177-4447
  • Helmut Greim Technical University of Munich, Germany [Prof. (emeritus) of Toxicology] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7262-7596
  • J.S. Heslop-Harrison Genetics and Genome Biology, Institute for Environmental Futures, University of Leicester, UK https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3105-2167
  • Jan G. Hengstler Department of Toxicology, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1427-5246
  • Hartmut Jaeschke Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Therapeutics, University of Kansas, Kansas City, KS, USA (Distinguished Prof.) [Editor-in-Chief of Livers, Associate Editor of Toxicological Sciences] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8695-6980
  • Norbert E. Kaminski Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Michigan State University East Lansing, MI, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2144-428X
  • Sam Kacew McLaughlin Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, ON, Canada [Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Parts A & B]
  • James Kim American Cleaning Institute®, Washington, DC, USA [Sr. Vice President, Science & Regulatory Affairs] https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4341-8644
  • Anthony L. Kiorpes River Bluff Associates, LLC, Bloomington, MN, USA [Principal]
  • Curtis Klaassen Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, College of Medicine, University of Kansas, Kansas City, KS, USA [retired]
  • James E. Klaunig Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA [Prof (emeritus) of Environmental Health and Toxicology] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4736-2223
  • Anne Loccisano Exponent, Inc., Alexandria, VA, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7366-2206
  • James S. MacDonald Synergy Partners R&D Solutions, Chester, NJ, USA [Founding partner]
  • Angela Mally Department of Toxicology, University of Würzburg, Germany https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5013-5080
  • Hans W. J. Marquardt Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Hamburg Medical School, Germany [Prof. (emeritus) of Toxicology]
  • M. Sue Marty The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5404-8515
  • John C. Matthews University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, University, MS, USA [Prof (emeritus)]
  • Roger O. McClellan Independent Advisor, Toxicology and Human Health Risk Analysis, Albuquerque, NM, USA [Editor-in-Chief (emeritus) of Critical Reviews in Toxicology (1987 - 2025)]
  • Robert G. Meeks Shin-Etsu Silicones of North America, Sarasota, Florida, USA https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0266-5737
  • Glenn C. Millner Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health (CTEH), LLC, Little Rock, AR, USA [Founder and Principal Toxicologist]
  • Michael W. Pariza Food Research Institute University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA [Prof. (emeritus), Food Science, Director (emeritus)]
  • Dennis Paustenbach Toxicology and Risk Exposure, TRC, Jackson, WY, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7412-7731
  • Olavi Pelkonen Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Oulu, Finland [Prof (emeritus) of Pharmacology] https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2132-3864
  • David Sarvadi MS, JD, Bonita Springs, FL, USA
  • Kai Savolainen Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland [Editor (emeritus) of Human and Experimental Toxicology (2002-2024)]
  • Ted W. Simon Ted Simon LLC, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Winston, GA, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9405-3020
  • Carr J. Smith Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics, Mobile Alabama, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8708-5208
  • Keith R. Solomon School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada [Prof. (emeritus)] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8496-6413
  • Stanley M. Tarka, Jr. Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA [Adjunct Associate Professor] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6755-2761
  • Aristidis M. Tsatsakis Center of Toxicology and Science Applications, Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece; Universidad Ecotec, Health Sciences Dep., Km. 13.5 Samborondón, EC092302, Ecuador; Sechenov IM First State Medical University, Science Technology Park, Moscow 119991, Russia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3824-2462
  • Joyce Tsuji Exponent, Inc., Bellevue, WA, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6679-0426
  • Nico P. E. Vermeulen Department of Chemistry & Pharmaceutical Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands [Prof. (emeritus) of Molecular Toxicology] https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4194-6401
  • Kendall B. Wallace University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, MN, USA [Prof. (emeritus) of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1459-1783
  • Michael Wernke Sea Limited, Columbus, OH, USA [Health Sciences Sr. Toxicologist and Pharmacologist]
  • Jonathan P. Williams Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA [Assoc. Prof.] https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5164-9430
  • Raphael J. Witorsch School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA [Prof. (emeritus) of Physiology and Biophysics] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0492-0571
  • Hiroshi Yamazaki Showa Pharmaceutical University, Machida, Tokyo, Japan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1068-4261

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2026-9644

Keywords:

scientific integrity, retraction, COPE, editorial censorship, scientific publishing

Abstract

The decision by the co-Editor-in-Chief of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, Prof. Martin van den Berg, to retract the 2000 review article by Williams, Kroes, and Munro has elicited widespread criticism within the scientific community. Issued in late 2025, the retraction decision cites procedural concerns including potential ghostwriting, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and omission of certain unpublished studies, invoking Committee on Publication Ethics guidelines despite lacking evidence of fraud or scientific flaws. This editorial argues that the retraction decision involves editorial overreach and misapplication of the guidelines. The alleged omissions stemmed from proprietary data access limitations that were disclosed in the original paper. Subsequent reviews by several independent expert panels and regulatory authorities with access to all glyphosate data, including the studies cited by the retracting editor, reached similar conclusions. Claims of ghostwriting were previously investigated and found lacking, including a declaration by EFSA as to the clarity of the conflict disclosures. The retraction’s timing, reliance on litigation documents, and apparent biases that were not disclosed in the retraction notice raise questions of ideological interference. Absent substantive rebuttals based on scientific merit rather than speculative claims of inappropriate authorship and data access, this retraction decision sets a dangerous precedent for retroactive censorship, potentially chilling beneficial industry-academic collaborations and eroding trust in the integrity of scientific publishing. With the strongest conviction, we assert that retracting a paper without scientific flaws isn’t protection—it is censorship. We therefore call for the immediate reversal of this flawed and unjustified retraction to preserve trust in peer-reviewed literature.

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Published

2026-07-14

How to Cite

Borgert, C. J., Abdollahi, M., Ansell, J. M., Aschner, M., Bates, C. A., Berry, C., … Yamazaki, H. (2026). Retraction of the landmark glyphosate safety publication by Williams, Kroes and Munro (2000) should be reversed. EXCLI Journal, 25, 1107–1116. https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2026-9644

Issue

Vol. 25 (2026)

Section

Scientific Forum

Categories

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Copyright (c) 2026 Christopher J. Borgert, Mohammad Abdollahi, Jay M. Ansell, Michael Aschner, Christopher A. Bates, Colin Berry, Brad Bolon, Peter J. Boogaard, Robert A. Budinsky, Lyle D. Burgoon, Gary Burin, James S. Bus, Harvey Clewell, Samuel M. Cohen, Thomas Colnot, Paul S. Darby, Wolfgang Dekant, John DeSesso, Daniel R. Dietrich, Mirjana Djukic, Anca Oana Docea, Jose L. Domingo, David L. Eaton, Jeffery A. Engelhardt, Anne Fairbrother, Allan Felsot, Penelope A. Fenner-Crisp, Robinan Gentry, Jay I. Goodman, Gio B. Gori, Helmut Greim, J.S. Heslop-Harrison, Jan G. Hengstler, Hartmut Jaeschke, Norbert E. Kaminski, Sam Kacew, James Kim, Anthony L. Kiorpes, Curtis Klaassen, James E. Klaunig, Anne Loccisano, James S. MacDonald, Angela Mally, Hans W. J. Marquardt, M. Sue Marty, John C. Matthews, Roger O. McClellan, Robert G. Meeks, Glenn C. Millner, Michael W. Pariza, Dennis Paustenbach, Olavi Pelkonen, David Sarvadi, Kai Savolainen, Ted W. Simon, Carr J. Smith, Keith R. Solomon, Stanley M. Tarka, Jr., Aristidis M. Tsatsakis, Joyce Tsuji, Nico P. E. Vermeulen, Kendall B. Wallace, Michael Wernke, Jonathan P. Williams, Raphael J. Witorsch, Hiroshi Yamazaki

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