A new weed killer showed signs of cancer potential in rats. EPA's own review said so. Then EPA approved it for apples, oranges, almonds and wheat.

What We Found

The chemical: trifludimoxazin, a BASF herbicide (Group 14, PPO inhibitor). EPA approved it as a new active ingredient on June 30, 2026 (docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2022-0649).

The crops: citrus (including oranges), pome fruit (apples, pears), tree nuts (almonds), cereal grains except rice (including wheat), plus soybeans, peanuts, legume vegetables and fallow land. The meme's four crops are right; the list is incomplete.

The rat finding: EPA classified it as "suggestive evidence of carcinogenic potential," based on thyroid tumors, driven by benign adenomas, in male rats at 750 ppm (33 mg/kg/day).

How EPA weighed it: there were no treatment-related tumors in female rats or in male or female mice, and no mutagenicity concern. "Suggestive" is weaker than EPA's "likely" or "known" categories. EPA used a non-linear approach (a chronic reference dose of 0.11 mg/kg/day, well below the tumor dose), saying it "will adequately account for all chronic toxicity, including potential carcinogenicity," and found no dietary or aggregate human-health risks of concern.

Sources

1. EPA, final registration decision memo (June 30, 2026), docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2022-0649 (opens in new tab)
2. Federal Register, Trifludimoxazin; Pesticide Tolerances (May 17, 2021) (opens in new tab)
3. Snopes, What to know about EPA approving trifludimoxazin (opens in new tab)
4. Center for Biological Diversity (July 1, 2026) (opens in new tab)
5. Center for Biological Diversity / Center for Food Safety, lawsuit (Aug. 31, 2026) (opens in new tab)
6. 9th Circuit petition for review (Aug. 28, 2026) (opens in new tab)
7. EWG (July 2026) (opens in new tab)