A technical report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), published on Tuesday 23 April, should help to strengthen the harmonisation of risk assessment for active substances used in pesticides in the EU in the future.
This report summarises an expert meeting on the general recurring issues noted during the peer review of active substances - a process for which the EFSA is responsible under the Regulation on marketing authorisation for phytopharmaceuticals (Pesticides Regulation 1107/2009).
During the peer review, several issues related to analytical methods were identified by the EFSA and the Member States as requiring discussion with experts from national authorities to enhance the harmonisation of risk assessment. The main problems identified were related to the quality and level of details of the assessment reports, on the one hand, and to the adherence to the data requirements, in particular regarding analytical methods and issues related to the assessment of the impurity profiles, on the other hand.
According to the EFSA, the recommendations and conclusions summarised in this report will be applied during peer review and should provide clarifications to companies applying for an authorisation for an active substance and to rapporteur Member States. These clarifications concern the interpretation of the guidance documents for the preparation of dossiers to be provided to the EFSA and the draft assessment reports for the renewal of the authorisation of an active substance. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)