Updating the opinion related to the revision of Annexes II and III to Council Directive 91/414/EEC concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market - Analytical methods Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR)

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) asked its Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues to review the Opinions of the PPR Panel issued in 2006 and 2007 related to the revision of Annexes II and III to Council Directive 91/414/EEC (data requirements) concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market. The PPR Panel considers that since the publication of it previous opinion, one OECD guidance document in the field of analytical methods has become available. This merits consideration. Guidance Document on Pesticide Residue Analytical Methods (Series on Pesticides, No. 39; Series on Testing and Assessment, No. 72) (OECD, 2007). The OECD document contains more detailed information concerning validation parameters e.g. on number of samples for fortification experiments. Under confirmatory techniques e.g. the characteristics of the UV spectrum, it is mentioned that samples should be spiked at the limit for quantification. The OECD (2007) document should therefore be referenced in the Annexes. The PPR Panel cannot at present give a definitive opinion on whether or not the data requirements given in Annex II and III are sufficient to gauge risks of nanopesticides, since such an assessment would require substantial scientific efforts and time which could not be provided within the frame of the present mandate. The PPR Panel emphasises that the recommendations given in the previous opinion are still valid.