Bayer-Monsanto Deal Faces Deeper Scrutiny in Europebr “We need to ensure effective competition so that farmers can have access to innovativebr products, better quality and also purchase products at competitive prices.”br Ms. Vestager said that many of the comments expressed concern about potential negative effects of Monsantobr and Bayer products, including risks to human health, food safety and consumer protection.br LONDON — European antitrust regulators opened an in-depth investigation on Tuesday into Bayer’s $56 billion deal for Monsanto, a transactionbr that would create the world’s largest integrated pesticides and seeds company.br Bayer, a German chemicals multinational, announced last yearbr that it planned to buy Monsanto, its American agribusiness rival, but it was only this past June that it sought approval from the European authorities.br “Seeds and pesticide products are essential for farmersbr and ultimately consumers,” Margrethe Vestager, the commissioner in charge of European competition policy, said on Tuesday in a news release.