The European Plant Protection Organisation's resistance risk analysis guideline is here - now it's time for change

摘要

Commission Directive 91/414 EEC on the inclusion of new and existing active substances requires assessment of the risk of resistance being developed by target organisms and for management strategies to be introduced to address these risks. The European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO) worked with regulatory authorities and industry to develop a resistance risk analysis guideline that would fulfil this need. Registration applicants within the European Union and other EPPO countries are obliged to comply with this guideline. Implementation of EPPO's new resistance risk analysis guideline will force significant change in the way crop protection products are developed, registered and used. It will be necessary to evaluate resistance risk and develop use patterns, with "acceptable" levels of risk, early in the development process. Registration applications for uses that are associated with "unacceptable" resistance risks may be denied. If registrations are denied because of resistance risk, it will be necessary to modify use patterns to reduce these risks to "acceptable" levels. To change use patterns at this late stage would be likely to result in significant delays and as a result loss of sales. Significant additional work would also be required if the original residue and efficacy dossiers no longer support the revised use pattern. Key to the process of change is the interpretation of what constitutes an "acceptable resistance risk".