EUROPE – EFSA: Database of Ecological and Residue Data Used in Assessments for Birds and Mammals

EFSA published the outcome of the data collection conducted with the aim of developing a unified database of ecological data and residue data to be used for the risk assessment of plant protection products for birds and mammals. This data collection, outsourced to a consortium consisting of the Alterra institute (Wageningen University, the Netherlands), the Austrian Agency for Health & Food Safety (AGES) and the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES), was initiated in 2015.

Data were collected among the data submitted in active substance and plant protection product dossiers and via a systematic literature review. Data were scored on the basis of quality criteria and organised in 3 Excel spreadsheets (one for birds, one for mammals and one for residue studies), that can be downloaded as Supplements to the report.

The ecological information collected for birds and mammals consisted of data used (or that could be used) for the determination of focal species (notably, the frequency of observation in the field and the frequency of observation per survey), the estimation of the proportion of an animal’s daily diet obtained in a treated habitat (PT) and the assessment of the composition of the diet obtained from a treated area (PD). Entries for 18-21 crop groups, 150 bird species and 70 mammal species were collected. Nearly half of the records for birds come from protected company study reports while it is less than 10% for mammals.

The information gathered on residues focussed on initial residue levels and on residue decline (notably, DT50 and DT90). Entries for 190 substances and 18 crop groups were collected. Around 75% of these records come from protected company study reports.

In a first step, the databases may be used by EFSA and Member states for the peer review of active substances and for the registration of plant protection products in order to reach a higher level of harmonisation and more robust assessments. In a second step, EFSA planned to use the databases as inputs for the revision of the guidance on birds and mammals (EFSA Journal 2009; 7(12):1438).

To download:

Lahr et al., 2018 – EFSA Supporting publication 2018:EN-1513: Data collection for the estimation of ecological data (specific focal species, time spent in treated areas collecting food, composition of diet), residue level and residue decline on food items to be used in the risk assessment for birds and mammals (the report and the 3 databases as supplements).

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