VIII SIMPOSIO INTERNAZIONALE ICPBR

HAZARDS OF PESTICIDES TO BEES

Bologna, 4-6 Settembre 2002

Apicidi e schemi di monitoraggio

Poisoning incidents involving honeybees in Germany (1999-2002) and new problems for beekeeping

Dietrich Brasse

Biologische Bundesanstalt (BBA), Messeweg 11/12, D-38104 Braunschweig, Germany. E-mail: D.Brasse@BBA.DE

The number of poisoning incidents involving honeybees which have been reported in Germany within the last 10 years was on average 82 per year. This is only 25 % of the yearly reported poisoning incidents 25 years ago. About 25 % of the damages are caused by deliberate poisoning and for another 25 % there is given no information about the cause of the incident. The share of these groups of the total number of incidents remains constantly. Therefor it is supposed, that the number of yearly happening incidents in Germany cannot be lowered importantly.

The incidents, which are caused by the use of plant protection products are distributed among different cultures. But only in rape and fruit cultures there are happening yearly important poisoning incidents, while the involvement of other cultures (vine, potatoes, broad beans, peas, cereals) changes from year to year. While incidents in potatoes are increasing those in vine are decreasing. Depending on changes in the registration of plant protection products in Germany the involvement of active substances in the origin of the incidents is also changing.

Although the number of poisoning incidents in Germany has remained on a low level in the last years, there is arising a new problem for beekeepers: residues of plant protection products in honey. Most of the beekeepers are keeping their honeybee populations in order to yield honey. Honey is a foodstuff of a special reputation and any residues are unwelcome. In 2001 there were detected residues of plant protection products in honey samples originating from fruit and rape growing areas. In Germany honey is belonging to animal foodstuff and not to vegetable foodstuff. Therefore for most of the active substances of plant protection products are existing no maximum residue limits regarding honey. Because of that the regulations of the decree for maximum residue limits are not valid for honey, as well honey is not considered in the different EEC-guidelines which are concerned with residues of plant protection products in vegetable foodstuff. According to the regulations of the German law for foodstuffs and household essentials honey has to be prepared that way that consumers are not put at risk. But in the mostly bad informed sensational press every residue in honey is put on a level with poisoning, but in fact the level of the detected residues is without any importance for human health. As consequence beekeepers have problems to sell their honey and they are asking for investigation of residues in honey when they are indicating poisoning incidents.

Although there had been no risk for consumers up to now by residues of plant protection products in honey BBA has started 2001 a testing programme in rape and fruit which shall lead to fixed maximum residue limits in honey.