Relevance of a new scientific publication (Hofmann et al., 2016) for previous environmental risk assessment conclusions and risk management recommendations on the cultivation of Bt-maize events MON810, Bt11 and 1507

Following a request from the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assessed the relevance of the Hofmann et al. (2016) publication for the environmental risk assessment and risk management of the Bt- maize events MON810, Bt11 and 1507 for cultivation. Hofmann et al. (2016) reported data on pollen deposition on maize and weed species in maize fields obtained from a 3 year study in Germany. Data on pollen deposition on host plant leaves in relation to distance from the nearest maize field are informative, as they can be used to develop mathematical models applied to estimate the risk to non-target Lepidoptera associated with the ingestion of Bt- maize pollen deposited on their host plants. EFSA considers that there are no data in Hofmann et al. (2016) that indicate the necessity to revise the previous environmental risk assessment conclusions and risk management recommendations for Bt- maize made in EFSA (2015). EFSA is of the opinion that the publication provides new data that confirm the robustness of exposure factors estimated by EFSA (2015), and give reassurance that the ‘Most Realistic’ scenario proposed by EFSA (2015) is a reliable basis for risk management recommendations based on the sensitivities of the notional species modelled. Therefore, EFSA considers that the previous risk assessment conclusions and risk management recommendations on maize MON810, Bt11 and 1507 for cultivation made by the Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms remain valid and applicable.