European beekeepers are pushing their governments to implement new Risk Assessment scheme for pestic
To be adopted and implemented the new methodologies for risk assessment of pesticide on bees proposed by the EFSA have to be approved by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCOFCAH) (meeting between EU Members states representatives and the EU Commission). The process is on going. A decision should be taken in 2014. The decision of the SCOFCAH will be decisive to set up new basis of risk assessment of pesticides on bees in the EU for the next years.
The next SCOFCAH meeting will take place on the 13 of December 2013(Agenda). Bee Life sent a letter to the members of the SCOFCAH to urge them to implement the EFSA GD on bees and inform them on how to facilitate the implementation among the EU. The EU risks assessment scheme on bees needs to be continuously reviewed to ensure pesticides do not have any effects for bees and pollinators in the future. Coming from independent experts, the implementation of the EFSA Guidance document on bees offers an opportunity to set up a new basis for future risks assessment of PPP on bees. Although some major points of concerns are still present, the EFSA proposal integrates substantial improvements.
The modes of action of PPP are nowadays more and more sophisticated, leading to multiple effects on bees (various sources of exposure, acute and chronic effects, synergetic effects,…). Therefore, the methodologies for the risk assessment of PPP on bees need itself to be updated and continuously improved.
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