European Commission confirms fipronil restrictions

The European Commission has confirmed that restrictions on the use of insecticide fipronil will come into force on Dec 31, 2013, due to concerns over possible risks to honeybees.

Fipronil seed treatments will only be allowed on these seeds intended to be sown in greenhouses and seeds of leek, onions, shallots, and the group of Brassica vegetables that will be harvested before flowering.

EU member states are required to amend or withdraw existing authorisations for plant protection products containing fipronil as active substance by Dec 31, 2013. The period of grace for using existing products expires on Feb 28, 2014. Use of treated seeds of other crops will be prohibited from Mar 1, 2014,including such seeds that may be used for experiments or tests for research or development purposes.

In addition, BASF,the notifier,is required to submit further confirmatory information by Mar 30, 2015 as regards: the risk to pollinators other than honey bees; the acute and long-term risk to colony survival and development, and the risk to bee brood from plant and soil metabolites, except the soil photolysis metabolites; the potential exposure to dust drift emitted during the drilling procedure and the acute and long-term risk to colony survival and development, and the risk to bee brood for situations where bees forage on vegetation exposed to dust drift; the acute and long-term risk to colony survival and development, and the risk to bee brood from foraging on insect honeydew; the potential exposure to guttation fluid and the acute and long-term risk to colony survival and development, and the risk to bee brood; the potential exposure to residues in nectar and pollen, honeydew and guttation fluid of succeeding crops or weeds occurring in fields, including the persistent soil metabolites.