The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has updated its 2013 guidance document on the risk assessment of pesticides for bees and published the revised document on Thursday 11 May, responding to a request made by the European Commission in 2019.
The result of a lengthy consultation with Member States and all stakeholders, this document is a guide for the assessment of these risks to honey bees, bumble bees and solitary bees in agricultural areas using a methodology that takes into account the background variability of colony size, as specified by EFSA in a 2021 report (see EUROPE 12691/12, 12572/14).
It presents a tiered approach to both estimating pesticide exposure and assessing the impact under different scenarios and levels.
“The concept of tiered approaches is to start with a simple assessment, such as a screening based on standard data, and then add complexity if necessary to refine the risk. This is the case when a high risk cannot be excluded at the lower tier, and it may involve data from field or semi-field studies”, says Domenica Auteri, the chair of the working group that led the revision of the guidance document.
The different scenarios and aspects relevant for the risk assessment include different durations of effects (acute and chronic) and different life stages of bees (adults and larvae). For honey bees, the revised document examines possible long-term effects of low doses and potential concerns related to sublethal effects.
The revised guidance document includes hazard characterisation and provides a risk assessment methodology covering dietary and contact exposure. It also provides recommendations for higher tier studies, risks from metabolites and plant protection products as a mixture.
See the revised policy paper: https://aeur.eu/f/6ue (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)