The revised draft eu-bee risk assessment guidelines entered the public comment phase

Bees have long been the focus of pesticide registrations in China, the European Union and the United States

In recent years, in order to protect the health of bees and effectively curb the degradation of bee populations, the European Union has withdrawn the vast majority of high "bee venom" neonicotinoid insecticides except for acetamid, thereby further reducing the use

In 2019, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) initiated a revision of the bee risk assessment guidelines

The revision mainly involves assessment objects including honey bees, bumble bees and solitary bees, and focuses on introducing the latest scientific understanding in the revised guidelines, further laying a solid foundation

In July 2022, after four years, the EFSA officially published a revised draft

Based on the latest scientific understanding and data evidence, the EFSA has re-evaluated and revised the original guidelines from a variety of sources, so that the new guidelines can support risk managers in determining specific protection goals (SPG)

The latest revised draft also outlines hierarchical assessment methods for exposure analysis in different scenarios and levels, including hazard characterisation, as well as risk assessment methods

In addition to this, the guidance document provides risk assessment methods and protocols for metabolites and mixtures and considers possible risk reduction measures

The public comment will last for 12 weeks, with the deadline for final comments being October 3, 2022