Implementing a globally harmonized risk assessment-based approach for regulatory decision-making of crop protection products.

A global, harmonized evaluation system for crop protection chemicals based on exposure and risk will improve the ability to inform risk management decisions and better support innovation. This would be achieved through harmonized risk assessment-based regulatory decision-making realized through the application of the best available science, via integration of new methods and traditional data to create tailored exposure-driven risk assessments. A requirement to achieve success is a structure that encourages direct communication between the regulatory community and the regulated industry, which would enable a more rapid incorporation of new technologies and advancing science. An approach that emulates the International Conference of Harmonization (ICH) for pharmaceuticals would bring together regulatory authorities and the regulated industry along with relevant experts from academia and Non-Governmental Organizations to discuss scientific and technical advances and their implementation. These discussions would also encourage the elimination of outmoded practices that no longer serve a purpose resulting in more uniform testing requirements and best practices for data evaluation to support safe use and scientifically defensible human health and environmental risk assessments. New and developing technologies offer exciting opportunities to improve the current toxicity testing paradigms to provide better solutions and diminish animal testing. Implementation of a harmonized approach will increase the speed, efficiency and accuracy of regulatory decision-making for human health and environmental protection while increasing the efficiency of providing safe and effective innovative products to the agriculture community. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.