EFSA Enhances Pesticide Risk Assessment for Environmental Safety

January 27, 2025

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety of pesticides within the European Union (EU). By conducting comprehensive environmental risk assessments (ERA), EFSA aims to protect non-target organisms, ecosystems, and biodiversity from potential risks posed by pesticides. This article delves into EFSA’s methodologies, recent updates, and collaborative efforts to enhance pesticide risk assessment for environmental safety.

The Role of EFSA in Pesticide Risk Assessment

Comprehensive Evaluation of Pesticides

EFSA’s mandate involves a thorough evaluation of pesticides before they are approved for use in the EU. This evaluation includes examining the environmental fate and ecotoxicology of these substances. Environmental fate refers to the behavior of pesticides once released into the environment, including their breakdown, accumulation in soil, and transformation into other substances. Ecotoxicology assesses the impact of pesticides on living organisms such as birds, mammals, plants, insects, and fish.

The comprehensive evaluation process EFSA employs ensures that all potential risks associated with pesticide usage are thoroughly understood and mitigated. This multi-faceted approach helps maintain environmental health and safety across the EU. The evaluation covers various stages of a pesticide’s life cycle, from its initial application to its ultimate fate in the environment. By doing so, EFSA can identify points of concern and take necessary actions to prevent potential negative impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity.

Identifying and Characterizing Risks

The primary goal of ERA is to identify and characterize the risks of potential undesired effects of pesticides on non-target organisms, ecosystems, and biodiversity. Biodiversity encompasses the variety of living organisms within a specific environment. Key themes in ERA include assessing environmental fate, ecotoxicology, exposure levels, and potential sublethal effects, which are biological, physiological, demographic, or behavioral effects on individuals or populations that survive exposure to a substance at lethal or sublethal concentrations.

This risk characterization ensures that all aspects of pesticide impact are considered, focusing not only on immediate effects but also on long-term and sublethal consequences. By understanding how pesticides affect various organisms and ecosystems, EFSA can develop guidelines and regulations that protect these vital components of the environment. Furthermore, this comprehensive risk assessment helps support sustainable agricultural practices, ensuring that pesticide usage does not compromise the health and diversity of surrounding ecosystems.

Recent Updates and Guidance Documents

Terrestrial Ecotoxicology and Biodiversity

EFSA is currently working on two mandates from the European Commission. The first mandate involves updating the guidance document on terrestrial ecotoxicology. This includes reviewing the risk assessment methodology for non-target arthropods (other than bees), non-target soil meso- and macrofauna, effects on soil nitrogen transformation, and non-target terrestrial plants outside the treatment area. The second mandate focuses on developing a framework for assessing potential indirect effects on biodiversity through trophic interactions in agro-environmental conditions.

The updates in these guidance documents reflect the latest scientific advancements and research findings in the field of pesticide risk assessment. By incorporating these updates, EFSA aims to provide more accurate and relevant guidelines for assessing the risks associated with pesticide use. This proactive approach ensures that the regulatory framework remains effective and up-to-date, addressing emerging concerns and challenges in agricultural and environmental management.

Key Milestones and Publications

In January 2025, EFSA will publish a technical report outlining its work plan to review the guidance document on terrestrial ecotoxicology and assess potential indirect effects on biodiversity. Additionally, EFSA will release an event report on a workshop co-organized with the European Commission’s DG SANTE on this topic. In October 2024, EFSA and DG SANTE co-organized a workshop in Brussels to discuss mandates related to the guidance document review and framework development.

These milestones and publications demonstrate EFSA’s commitment to continuous improvement and collaboration with stakeholders. By organizing workshops and involving experts from various fields, EFSA ensures that diverse perspectives are considered in the risk assessment process. This collaborative approach enhances the robustness and credibility of the assessments, ultimately leading to better protection of the environment and public health.

Focus on Bees, Birds, and Mammals

Assessing Risks to Bees

In 2023, EFSA published a revised guidance document for assessing the risk posed by plant protection products to bees. This document emphasizes the consideration of long-term exposure to low pesticide doses and sublethal effects on honeybees. The updated guidance aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how pesticides impact bee health, which is crucial for maintaining pollination services and overall ecosystem health.

Bees play a vital role in pollinating many crops and wild plants, contributing to food production and biodiversity. Therefore, protecting bee populations from the harmful effects of pesticides is essential for ensuring sustainable agriculture and ecological balance. The revised guidance highlights the need to consider both direct and indirect effects of pesticide exposure, including potential impacts on bee behavior, reproduction, and colony health.

Evaluating Exposure and Effects on Birds and Mammals

EFSA has also updated guidance documents for assessing the risks of pesticides to birds and mammals. These documents outline how to evaluate exposure and potential undesired effects on these non-target organisms. By refining the methodologies used in these assessments, EFSA aims to ensure that the risks to birds and mammals are accurately characterized and managed.

Birds and mammals are integral parts of many ecosystems, and their health can be indicative of overall environmental quality. The updated guidance documents provide a framework for assessing how pesticides may affect these animals through direct exposure, dietary intake, and secondary poisoning. This comprehensive approach helps identify potential threats to wildlife and implement measures to mitigate these risks, ensuring that pesticide usage does not have detrimental effects on bird and mammal populations.

Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement

Peer Review and Scientific Advice

EFSA’s role includes providing independent scientific advice to EU legislators and carrying out peer reviews of pesticide safety. An initial risk assessment by an EU Member State is followed by a peer review involving EFSA and other Member States. In July 2024, EFSA established a working group focused on ERA for terrestrial non-target organisms. Besides peer review, EFSA also delivers scientific advice on the impacts of plant protection products (PPPs) on the environment through guidance documents and scientific opinions.

The peer review process ensures that the assessments conducted by individual Member States are thorough, consistent, and scientifically sound. By involving multiple experts and Member States in the review process, EFSA enhances the credibility and reliability of the risk assessments. This collaborative approach promotes transparency and accountability, fostering trust and confidence in the regulatory decisions made to protect the environment and public health.

Stakeholder Discussion Group

Collaboration is a key aspect of EFSA’s approach. The authority has established a stakeholder discussion group on ERA to facilitate cooperation between EFSA and experts working in the field. This engagement ensures diverse perspectives are considered in the ERA process, enhancing the robustness of the assessments. By involving stakeholders, EFSA aims to create a more transparent and inclusive risk assessment process.

The stakeholder discussion group provides a platform for exchanging knowledge and expertise, addressing emerging challenges, and identifying opportunities for improvement. This collaborative effort helps ensure that the risk assessment methodologies and guidelines developed by EFSA are relevant, effective, and aligned with the latest scientific advancements. Moreover, stakeholder involvement fosters a sense of shared responsibility and commitment to protecting the environment and public health.

Regulatory Framework and Continuous Improvement

EU Regulations Governing Pesticides

Several key regulations govern the approval and use of plant protection products within the EU. Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 sets the rules for approval and use, while Regulation (EU) No 546/2011 implements these rules by setting uniform principles for evaluating and authorizing these products. Additionally, Commission regulations (EU) No 283/2013 and No 284/2013 outline the data requirements for active substances and plant protection products, respectively.

The regulatory framework established by these regulations ensures that pesticide approval and usage are based on rigorous scientific assessments and standardized principles. This approach promotes the safe and effective use of pesticides, minimizing potential risks to the environment and human health. Furthermore, the regulations provide a clear and transparent process for evaluating and authorizing plant protection products, ensuring consistency and harmonization across the EU.

Commitment to Scientific Rigor

EFSA’s essential task includes conducting in-depth environmental risk assessments (ERAs) to safeguard non-target organisms, ecosystems, and biodiversity from potential harm that pesticides might cause. This process aims to maintain ecological balance and prevent negative impacts on wildlife and plant life. Recently, EFSA has updated its methodologies to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of its assessments. The agency also collaborates with various stakeholders, including scientific communities, regulatory bodies, and international organizations, to enhance its pesticide risk assessment procedures. These collaborative efforts ensure that EFSA’s assessments are comprehensive and up-to-date, reflecting the latest scientific advancements and environmental data. Through these rigorous evaluations and cooperative initiatives, EFSA continues to uphold environmental safety standards, protecting public health and preserving the natural habitat within the EU.

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