EFSA’s pesticide experts have developed an approach that could help risk assessors make better use of epidemiological data in the assessment of active chemical substances used in pesticides.
The Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR) has also made recommendations on how to improve the quality and reliability of epidemiological studies used in risk assessment of pesticides.
Their scientific opinion is a follow-up to a literature review commissioned by EFSA that noted significant associations in epidemiological studies between exposure to pesticides and 23 major categories of human health outcomes.
The review also identified a number of weaknesses and limitations affecting the reliability of such studies and their applicability in the regulatory risk assessment of pesticide active substances.