FRANCE: ANSES conclusions on the assessment of SDHI are available

In an opinion published on 16 April 2018, a group of scientists alerted about the potential health and environmental concerns of using succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor fungicides (SDHI) in agriculture.

SDHIs are fungicidal active substances used to control major diseases in cereals and other arable crops, grapevine, orchards, vegetable and ornamental crops. SDHIs prevent the development of these diseases by inhibiting the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), an enzyme involved in the cell respiration. To date, 11 active substances of this family are involved in the composition of plant protection products authorised in France.

On 24 May 2018, ANSES launched the assessment and gathered independent experts in order to determine if the scientific information and hypotheses mentioned by the authors of the opinion published on 16 April 2018 provide data on exposure and risks that would not have been taken into account in the evaluation of the fungicidal active substances concerned, in the light of data from the literature, European evaluations of substances and data from “phytopharmacovigilance” (monitoring system).

This work does not provide evidence of an alert for human health and for the environment in relation to the agricultural uses of these fungicides that could justify the modification or withdrawal of marketing authorisations.

However, ANSES consider that the dossier is not closed and, as part of the “phytopharmacovigilance” system, is continuing investigations to clarify the levels of internal exposure to the SDHI (amount of substance present in the body) and to intensify epidemiological research, particularly on farmers.

To download: ANSES opinion and report on “the evaluation of the signal concerning the toxicity of succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor fungicides (SDHI)” (in French)

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