Investigation
We have extensive research experience and international recognition in the identification and quantification of the transformation products generated from the active substances and plant protection products for crops protection, characterization of their physicochemical and environmental properties and validation of the analytical methods used for such purposes. For this reason, since 1997 our unit performs the risk assessment of these compounds, in addition to advising and collaborating with national government agencies and institutions (e.g., MAPA (ES), ANSES (FR), BENAKI (EL), Ctgb (NL), AGES (AT), etc.) and European (e.g., European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), European Commission, etc.). Our unit also participates in groups of experts as scientific support for the assessment of active substances and plant protection products for crops protection in Europe and in the development of guides and protocols for the improvement of the research and assessment commented previously. The development of this research activity requires highly qualified personnel and the use and knowledge of cutting-edge techniques of analytical and organic chemistry (e.g., chromatography, NMR, mass spectrometry, etc.), of the latest generation computational tools used in quantum chemistry (e.g., Gaussian, QTAIM, NBO, etc.), of computational models based on the use of quantitative structure-activity / property relationships (QSAR / QSPR), of advanced statistical programs (e.g., Unscrambler, SPSS, Statgraphics, etc.), of exposure models (e.g., PEARL, PRZM, FOCUS, NMI3, HAIR, etc.) to perform an estimation of the environmental risk and on non-target species. As a whole, our research and evaluation activity is a fundamental part of a guarantee system that provides knowledge for sustainable agricultural production and in accordance with European regulations, with its own characteristics and that differentiate it from those of countries with less strict regulation, always safeguarding the competitiveness of European agriculture within a global market with a consumer who is increasingly demanding and concerned about their health and nutrition and for the environment.
