Update on the revised guidance on the risk assessment of plant protection products on bees (Apis mellifera, Bombus spp. and solitary bees) published by EFSA in 2023.
The development of the B-risk calculator¹ was discussed at an ad-hoc meeting in June 2024:
https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/events/ad-hoc-meeting-b-risk-calculator-bee-guidance
The public version of the B-risk calculator (B-risk 1.0.0) was published on the EFSA R4EU platform on 18 November 2024². B-risk is made available as a Shiny app. The app can be found at the following link: https://r4eu.efsa.europa.eu/app/Brisk
It is planned that a consolidated B-risk will be made available as an R package around the end of 2025.
The B-risk calculator has been developed to enable complex exposure estimates for different scenarios and routes of exposure, the fitting of dose-response curves for different risk cases and the combining of the exposure and hazard estimations to predict colony or population level effects on bees. The calculator is also designed to enable time-reinforced toxicity and mixture toxicity calculations. The tool focuses on the lower tiers of risk assessment and does not explicitly address any part of the higher tier risk assessment. The tool is organised in four main sections:
- ‘data entry’,
- ‘risk assessment’,
- ‘sub-lethal’, and
- ‘report’
The downloadable report is currently available as an Excel file containing multiple spreadsheets.
Note that use of the B-risk calculator is likely to be highly resource intensive, and risk assessment results could be affected by the version of the calculator used.
EFSA noted at SETAC Vienna 2025 that testing and bug-fixing is currently in progress for B-risk. Also an adaptation of B-risk for biocides following ECHA GD (2024) is currently under development.
Implementation timelines for the latest EFSA bee Guidance document, to support submissions for PPP active substance or products at EU or National level have not yet been published. It should be noted that update of the Regulations (EU) No 546/2011 (uniform principles), (EU) No 283/2013 (data requirements for active substances) and (EU) No 284/2013 (data requirements for plant protection products is required before the revised EFSA bee Guidance can be implemented.
Staphyt has built a dedicated “BeeTeam” to provide an accurate response to our clients demands. Staphyt’s BeeTeam brings together regulatory experts, ecotoxicologists and field specialists, dedicated to support our clients through residue and ecotoxicology trials on pollinators.
🌻 Staphyt is able to conduct field and laboratory studies to GLP and according to the OECD Guidelines, with expertise to assess both the potential exposure and effects of chemicals on bees.
You want to learn more about our Bee Team offer ? Feel free to contact our team : contact@staphyt.com
¹https://r4eu.efsa.europa.eu/
²EFSA DISCLAIMER: The tool is in a beta version, further amendments and bug fixes will be made in the following months.
