Conclusion on the peer review of the pesticide risk assessment of the active substance sulfoxaflor

The conclusions of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) following the peer review of the initial risk assessments carried out by the competent authority of the rapporteur Member State Ireland and the co-rapporteur Member States Czech Republic, France and Poland for the pesticide active substance sulfoxaflor and the assessment of applications for maximum residue levels (MRLs) are reported. The context of the peer review was that required by Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The conclusions were reached on the basis of the evaluation of the representative uses of sulfoxaflor as an insecticide on fruiting vegetables (field use and glasshouse application; tomato, cherry tomato, pepper (bell and non bell), aubergine), cucurbits (field use and glasshouse application; cucumber, water melon, courgette), spring and winter cereals (wheat, rye, barley, oats, triticale) and cotton. MRLs were assessed in almonds, pecans, apples, pears, cherries, peaches including nectarines, apricots, plums, wheat and barley grain, broccoli, cauliflower, mustard greens, cabbage, leaf and head lettuce, spinach, celery, cotton seed, oilseed rape seed, grapefruit, lemons, oranges, melons, squash (winter and summer), cucumbers, potatoes, sugar beet, carrots, soya bean, beans (pulses), fresh beans with and without pods, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, wine and table grapes, and in animal commodities such as milk, eggs, muscle, fat, liver and kidney. The reliable endpoints concluded as being appropriate for use in regulatory risk assessment and the proposed MRLs, derived from the available studies and literature in the dossier peer reviewed, are presented. Missing information identified as being required by the regulatory framework is listed. With the available assessments a high risk to bees was not excluded for field uses and a high long-term risk was indicated for the small herbivorous mammal scenario for field uses in vegetables and in cotton.