National Sanitary Surveillance Agency


Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency is a regulatory body of the Brazilian government, created in 1999 during President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's term of office. It is responsible for the regulation and approval of pharmaceutical drugs, sanitary standards and regulation of the food industry.
The agency bills itself as "an independently administered, financially autonomous" regulatory body. It is administered by a five-member collegiate board of directors, who oversee five thematic directorates, assisted by a five-tier oversight structure. Since September 2018 the agency is headed by.

Pesticide approvals

Brazil is the world's largest consumer of pesticides. These pesticides are primarily used in the production of soy and corn. The number of approved pesticides increased "rapidly" between 2015 and 2019. RT reported in 2019 that ANVISA had relaxed pesticide regulations and that the approval process had been accelerated as within the first seven months of the year 262 new pesticides were approved, 82 of them classified as "extremely toxic". Teresa Cristina, the agriculture minister, noted that "there is no general liberation" of new pesticide registrations and no reason for concern when pesticides are used as instructed.