European Union member state representatives have voted to ban neonicotinoids for outdoor use.
The vote follows a scientific review published in February by the EU’s European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which concluded that the neonicotinoids imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam are harmful to bees.
“All outdoor use of the three substances will be banned and the neonicotinoids in question will only be allowed in permanent greenhouses where no contact with bees is expected,” the European Union said in a statement.
The ban will go into effect by the end of 2018. It builds further upon use restrictions, implemented in 2013, on treating the seeds, soil and foliage of numerous outdoor-grown produce crops, as well as any “ornamentals flowering in [the] year of treatment,” according to the EU.
Product manufacturers and some farming groups oppose the decision, according to the BBC.
Latest from Produce Grower
- Don’t overlook the label
- Hurricane Helene: Florida agricultural production losses top $40M, UF economists estimate
- Little Leaf Farms introduces Sweet & Crispy Blend
- IFPA’s Foundation for Fresh Produce to launch Sustainable Packaging Innovation Lab with USDA grant
- No shelter!
- Sensaphone releases weatherproof enclosures for WSG30 remote monitoring system, wireless sensors
- Indoor Ag-Con, Sollum Technologies launch scholarship program for college students
- Anu awarded $175K USDA SBIR grant to advance Pure Produce Container technology
