Resource Library

- Efficient use of IUCLID
- New scientific Guidance Documents and their cumulative impact
- Annexes to CropLife Europe letter #36837
The letter touched upon crucial elements in the upcoming proposal
- Transparency and Freedom of Choice
- Detection and identification for market control and consumer trust
- Coexistence of farming systems and international trade
- Correct use of democratic instruments
The letter touched upon crucial elements in the upcoming proposal:
- Definition of sustainability: To ensure policy coherence and consistency with world- staged ambitions, it is of the utmost importance that the FSFS establishes a clear definition of sustainability and that its implementation takes the three elements of sustainability into consideration in a balanced manner, and aligns with international definitions. Any definition, principle and future legislation should be based on clear, robust, and up-to-date scientific evidence and data.
- Scope of the legislation: The definition of the scope of the regulation will have a crucial impact on EU food production, supply, manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption. Currently, the scope of this initiative remains extremely vague. To effectively assess its impact and prepare for its implementation, we call on the Commission to reflect together with food chain actors on a precise scope tailored to agri-food chain ground realities and in accordance with existing sectorial legislation. In addition, the FSFS should provide legal certainty, clarity, and a level playing field for the entire food value chain, ensuring harmonisation at EU level and future-proof legislation.
- Policy coherence and an interdisciplinary approach: The new framework would need to ensure coherence with all relevant EU legislation, across areas of impact to our sector and involve the relevant Commission’s Directorate-Generals (DGs) and their expertise (DG GROW, TRADE, CLIMA, JUST). Such an interdisciplinary approach will help ensure a truly long-term change and avoid incoherence or duplication with already existing legislation.
- Elaboration and implementation of the FSFS: The further elaboration process of the FSFS should be based on a multi-stakeholder cooperation, involving agri-food chain actors, and ensure a high level of EU harmonisation to avoid any fragmentation of the Single Market. In addition, more clarity is needed on the management and implementation of this policy within the Commission, once the FSFS is adopted.
- Interlinkage of food security and sustainable food systems: Any sustainable food system should also ensure food security (including food availability, affordability, and accessibility) and nutrition security.
- Trade and international dimension of sustainability: Sustainable food systems would need to consider the interconnectedness of EU and global agri-food chains and, as such, take the international dimension of trade for food and nutrition security and circularity into account.
- Realistic cost review and support for necessary transitions: Further assessment would be necessary to analyse the potential costs of the envisaged measures under the FSFS. The FSFS should act as an enabling regulatory framework, and thus entail the necessary incentives, financial, and technological support to enable food chain actors to contribute to the transition towards more sustainable food systems.
- Recognition of the diversity of the agri-food realities in their contribution to sustainability: The FSFS should allow for all food chain actors to focus on key areas for their sustainability improvement in ways that are suited to their realities, taking into account the diversity of processes and products.
Plant-related inventions contribute to making agriculture more sustainable and play a significant role in maintaining a stable food supply.
Biotechnology innovation needs to be encouraged via a solid and predictable IP framework
CropLife Europe is in favor of facilitating access to patents for breeders and supports any of its members’ initiatives in this regard.
The European Commission’s (EC) Sustainable Food Systems legislative proposal, expected by the third quarter of 2023, aims to ensure that all foods placed on the EU market become increasingly sustainable. CropLife Europe supports this goal and hereby proposes the following key principles for the future framework to meet this objective.
New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) have great potential to contribute to sustainable agri-food systems, in
line with the objectives of the EU Green Deal. The EU currently regulates NGT products under the legislation for Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), which hinders the development and availability of NGT products for European farmers, and is negatively impacting EU innovation and competitiveness.
No plant product obtained by NGTs has been registered in the EU under this framework to date.
The use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that operators wear during the use
of pesticides and biopesticides can significantly reduce their exposure and therefore minimise the risk of side effects. Effective PPE are, for example, certified working coveralls or chemical resistant gloves that protect the body and the hands.
The following document provides information in a Q&A format on how PPE effectively reduces exposure, how PPE are considered duringthe pesticide authorisation process, and how farmers are trained to use PPE properly so that it can help minimise exposure to pesticides and biopesticides
CropLife Europe input for SCOPAFF meeting 22-23 March 2023
- Renewal process under 2020/1740
- EFSA Guidance on the use of the benchmark dose approach in risk assessment
- EFSA Guidance Risk assessment for Birds and Mammals
- EFSA soil exposure modelling framework and the underlying spatial data
CropLife Europe believes the promotion of innovation will accelerate the transition to sustainability for European agriculture and contribute to achieving the objectives of the SUR.
The European agricultural sector needs a policy framework conveying a clear plan to deliver innovative technologies across the full spectrum of available solutions and increase the uptake of digital and precision tools.
Pesticide reduction targets methodology should continue to be use and risk based as well as addressing individual country-specific agricultural environments, historical achievements and different national starting points.
Incorporating digital and precision technologies into the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies will optimise the use of pesticides whilst preserving the IPM principles to support farmers flexibility to find the best crop protection strategy.
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Several plant protection products and pharmaceuticals work via inhibition of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD). Animal species have a substantially different sensitivity to this class of chemicals, and a key question for the regulatory assessment was how sensitive human beings are. CropLife Europe has invested into a systematic review of data across its members and the pharmaceutical uses, and to distill this into a clear conclusion: humans are rather insensitive, and safety data generated in the mouse is the best approximation to humans. In the course of the project, an in vitro new approach method to compare the species sensitivity has been optimized to provide a regulatory option to replace animal experiments. Find the full scientific publication here.
Jane Botham1 · Richard W. Lewis2 · Kim Z. Travis2 · Audrey Baze3 · Lysiane Richert3 · Elizabeth Codrea4 · Giovanna Semino Beninel5 · Jean‐Christophe Garcin5 · Christian Strupp6