This page is a part of the corpus (Annexe 1) used to write Stéphane Foucart and neonicotinoids.
Here, I relate what the journalist said in his article “Abeilles : un quatrième insecticide épinglé”. All quotes, originally in French, were translated by me.
EFSA issued a “severe” opinion on the risks posed by fipronil, recognizing a “high acute risk” posed to domestic bees by corn seed dust coated with this NNI. The agency was unable to perform a full risk assessment due to a lack of data. However, she believes that the risk is likely to be low for crops not frequented by bees. This evaluation reveals implicitly “that regulatory tests to assess the risks of new generations of insecticides – used, like fipronil, in seed coatings – are unable to detect the potential effects of these molecules on bees.”
The EU confirmed on 24 May the entry into force of the moratorium on the other 3 NNIs on 1 December.
Fipronil was already banned in 2005 in France, following a CST report concluding that the use of this NNI “may seem“ worrying”and “does not rule out unacceptable risks”.