Our work
Plant Protection Products Regulation (PPPR) consulting is crucial for the protection of our food supply, against the harmful action of organisms like fungi and insects. The formulations designed to achieve this are not perfect and it is important to assess the risks to humans, other non-target animals, or to the environment.
A high-quality assessment of the toxicology of a plant protection product is a cornerstone of any submission for approval. Our extensive experience in identifying, interpreting and summarising toxicological data makes us an ideal partner for this aspect of your Plant Protection Products Regulation submissions.
Literature searching
Pesticide active substances are approved in the EU for a defined period of up to 15 years. As part of the renewal process, companies are required to submit data published since the previous evaluation. We have years of experience in performing tailored, sector-specific literature searches. Our skills in pesticide toxicology make us a valuable partner in the preparation of plant protection product authorisation and renewal dossiers.
Exposure Estimation
Once a chemical’s toxicological hazards have been characterised, it is crucial to understand what the potential human exposure might be. This is always difficult, particularly so for plant protection products, where very different tribes might be at risk (e.g. professional users, bystanders and even inadvertently-exposed children).
We always treat exposure estimation as a collaborative process, guiding our clients to identify the information necessary for a robust health risk assessment. We are, though, familiar with many of the key software tools for exposure estimation, including ECHA’s Chesar, EasyTRA, BEAT, EUSES and ConsExpo, as well as the key guidance relating to modelling of biocide exposures.
Helpful link
Regulation (EC) 1107/2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market
Some of our case studies in this area
Making sense of skin sensitisation
Blog articles
From cosmetics to cleaning products, skin allergy (sensitisation) is a prominent feature of our modern chemical-centric world. Put simply, this hazard is an abnormal reaction of the immune system which makes certain individuals overly sensitive to particular chemicals. Read more in our blog, to help you make sense of sensitisation.
Knowledge is key. Part 2: The bibra TRACE database (and supporting databank)
Blog articles
In Part 1, Peter Watts gave a potted history of his personal early experience in literature searching and toxicity data identification. Along with our colleagues of the same 'fine vintage', he weathered the storms of change, progressing from a time of back-strain (from carrying huge texts around) and index finger wear (turning pages) to dial-up and then to web-based searching. With your indulgence, Pete would now like to expand a little regarding TRACE and its value to clients and the bibra toxicologists.
Knowledge is key. Part 1: Toxicity literature searching, a personal history
Blog articles
Our Toxicology Director, Peter Watts, has written a very interesting article focussing on toxicity literature searching, from his own perspective (having been at bibra for 40+ years)
