International conference on bee health
ANSES and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) are organising an international scientific conference on Monday 9 December dedicated to bee health and how research can contribute to risk assessment.
The objective is to review both agencies' proposals on the assessment of plant protection products and their impact on the health of bees and other pollinating insects.
This day will also provide an opportunity for our Sophia Antipolis Laboratory – the European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL) for bee health – to present its research results.
Aimed at a broad audience including beekeepers, researchers, public decision-makers, companies, representatives from professional bodies and the media, the conference will provide a forum for debate and constructive exchanges with scientists and stakeholders in France and Europe.
In a recent opinion, ANSES, which works actively to strengthen bee protection, reiterated the importance of improving risk assessment methods for marketing authorisation applications. In particular, it recommends relying on the EFSA guidance document, in order to better assess the long-term risks for bees and other pollinators. In addition, the Agency stressed the need to set regulatory threshold values for chronic risks at European level, in order to harmonise the criteria used for making decisions on marketing authorisation for products. See ANSES's opinion on changes in the risk assessment methodology for bees within the framework of marketing authorisation applications