Workshop Report: Risk Perception and the Acceptability of Human Exposure to Pesticides

The Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA) consortium and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) organised a joint workshop on risk perception and the acceptability of human exposure to pesticides on 20 December 2017 in Berlin. The objective was to facilitate an exchange of experiences and research results among regulators and natural and social scientists in the field of pesticide regulation. While the distribution of pesticides continues to grow on a global level, society is becoming more sensitive to health hazards and environmental impacts associated with alimentation. Risk perception deviates from statistical data-based risk assessment results, often overestimating the levels of exposure and the severity of risk associated with certain products. The EU authorisation process for plant protection products and the toxicological risk assessment are based on the premise “that substances or products produced or placed on the market do not have any harmful effect on human or animal health or any unacceptable effects on the environment”, as written in the EU Regulation N° 1107/2009. New active substances for plant protection need to apply to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which conducts a comprehensive and periodical evaluation, including separate risk assessments from EU Member States and consultations of experts and the public.