EU public health watchdog EFSA has delayed publication of its updated assessment of neonicotinoid pesticides.

Three neonicotinoids were subjected to partial bans by the European Commission in 2013 due to links with health impacts on bees. Though national governments in Europe have issued derogations allowing farmers to use the chemicals in spite of the strict restrictions and manufacturers have claimed their products are not harming non-target insects, there has been a large body of evidence published since 2013 linking neonics with adverse effects on insects, birds and aquatic life. The EU Commission is set to re-evaluate its restrictions this year, and at the Oxford Real Farming Conference last week, 18 wildlife and conservation groups called on the UK government to extend bans on neonicotinoids to cover wheat crops.

EFSA’s assessment, which will inform the Commission’s decision, was due for publication this month, but has been delayed. The updated assessments are intended to take into account new findings from recent studies.

EFSA said the assessment’s publication had been pushed back to allow regulators adequate time to consider the large amount of research submitted in response to a call for  data issued in 2015.

On Tuesday, an EFSA spokesperson told Farming Online, “When it imposed controls on neonicotinoids in 2013 the European Commission announced that work on the full re-evaluation of the three neonicotinoids would begin within two years. In 2015, EFSA therefore issued a call for data and commissioned a literature search to gather evidence on which to base these new assessments.

“The information from the call for data included peer-reviewed articles published in journals, study reports, monitoring data, reviews, notes and datasets. The assessments were due to be finalised in early 2017 but, to ensure adequate time to consider the very large amount of information received during the call for data, the deadline has been extended and is now set for autumn 2017.”