Open call for new scientific information as regards the risk to bees from the uses of the active substance fipronil in the EU

The European Commission has requested the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to organise an open call for data in order to collect new scientific information as regards the risk to bees from the uses of the active substance fipronil in the EU in accordance with Article 21 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 and in the context of Article 31 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002. In response to that request, EFSA launched an open call for data. The purpose was to gather documented information (new, published or unpublished) relevant to the above mentioned evaluation. The call was open from 1 September 2015 to 15 January 2016. National agencies, non-governmental organisations, universities and research institutions have submitted information in response to this call. A total of 17 contributions were received from 4 different sources. As a second step, upon receipt of a follow up mandate from the European Commission, EFSA will undertake a review of the data resulted from the open call and will provide a conclusion concerning an updated risk assessment for bees.