Dear Mrs. Gallina,
Flupyradifurone was approved in 2015 for a period of 10 years. EFSA, in its peer review that served as the basis for the approval, had identified a “low” risk to honey bees.
In 2020, the Commission received notifications from the Netherlands and France about new studies submitted by the applicant and available in peer-reviewed literature, on the potential serious risks that flupyradifurone may pose to human health and to the environment. Within the evidence provided, it was pointed out that not only flupyradifurone causes harm to honeybees, but also that the solitary bee species Megachile rotundata appears to be much more sensitive than the honey bee, the latter being the only bee species assessed in the approval dossier.
