Anotherone bites the dust!

[For want of a better word]

A recent decision by the British Veterinary Medical Directorate means that VitaFeed Gold must undergo the full regulatory process. While Vita is very supportive of regulatory controls of products and treatments for bees, the cost of the documentation and research required to gain regulatory approval for this particular product is uneconomic.

Technical Director, Dr Max Watkins explained: “Sadly, we have had to take a decision to cease sales of VitaFeed Gold in the UK for economic reasons. While the product has been very successful in strengthening honey bee colonies and is praised by many beekeepers, the cost of putting it through the regulatory process would mean that we would have to raise the product price to levels which we believe would not be acceptable to beekeepers. With regret, we have therefore decided to withdraw the product from the UK market. It is however available in many other countries.”

Back to icing sugar then!!



Nos da

( Will the last beekeeper to leave the UK please turn off the lights!)

 

[philipm]

Probably be able to buy it on line from overseas.

 

[For want of a better word]

Probably be able to buy it on line from overseas.

Agree... but illegal to use it on bees in the UK!

Manuka honey will be next on the list!

Nos da

 

[philipm]

Don't worry use it like oxalic to wash the hives with!

 

[Hivemaker.]

Back to icing sugar then!!

Sugar could be next on the list of treatments banned, unless it gets registration by the VMD.

 

[For want of a better word]

Sugar could be next on the list of treatments banned, unless it gets registration by the VMD.

Then I will be feeding sucrose and fructose !

Yeghes da

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

And what are the BBKA doing about this unwarranted persecution of beekeepers?
Bugger all apart from telling everyone they'll get their house raided if they use OA and giving each other fancy certificates with colourful ribbons.

 

[Plenty of honey]

Sugar could be next on the list of treatments banned, unless it gets registration by the VMD.

Your forgetting wax and frames, oh and a hive, Highly dodgy!! this is sheer stupidity!! what next!!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Perhaps it's all a rehearsal for leaving the EU? Without Europe throwing numerous regulations at us we will have to make up lots for ourselves

 

[madasafish]

I hope Tate & Lyall are having their sugar tested..

What about smoker fuel..??

What about testing hive paints and coatings? And glue? And polycarbonate see through crown boards?

 

[philipm]

A lot of this is about big business making money out of us. I wouldn't dream of saying that government departments are corrupt but they don't seem to like people using their free will forcing us to use products at grossly inflated prices.This is already happening in the NHS where expensive drugs are given instead of cheaper alternatives.

 

[user 6228]

JUst reading https://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/pdf/vmgn/VMGNote01.pdf
This a very very wide ranging piece of legislation

Any Product that claims to have a medicinal effect is covered by the VMD i.e. is a VMP.
e.g. If you claimed your hive reduced parasites or prevented parasites that is subject to VMD, but not if it acts as solely as a repellent.
So Trees need to have an authorisation from the VMD ?
but
"Products applied only to housing and/or bedding fall within the scope of the Biocides legislation and would not be considered a VMP"

Does that mean trees fall under the biocides legislation and are not a VMP?

" References to the
nutritional maintenance of a healthy animal/healthy digestive system/healthy respiratory system would not normally be regarded as medicinal claims. "

but
"Nutraceuticals
33. Nutraceutical products (a food or naturally occurring food supplement marketed as having a beneficial effect on health) are treated like any other products. They require
a Marketing Authorisation if medicinal claims are made of if they contain certain ingredients that exert a pharmacological effect on the target animal. "

and
"Marketing and other Promotional Material
20. Claims made by a 3rd party, such as magazine reviews or articles published by independent analysts, will be taken to be those of the company marketing theproduct where evidence confirms that the 3rd party has a connection to the marketing company by way of solicitation, endorsement, sponsorship or funding. "

This will mean that if a beekeeper claims honey reduces disease in honeybees, then the bees will need to get their honey certified and get a marketing authorisation MA.

it would also prevent me from getting a job in either a forestry company or one that made polystyrene hives

Bizarre!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

In the end it's just the present government looking at their honorary directorships etc. for when they retire - legislate and tie up everything so it's controlled by big business so they can profit from the great unwashed.
If they had their way they'd abolish home ownership and make slum dwellings compulsory.
Nye Bevans words from 1948 are as relevant now as they always have been.

That is why no amount of cajolery, and no attempts at ethical or social seduction, can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party that inflicted those bitter experiences on me. So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin. They condemned millions of first-class people to semi-starvation. Now the Tories are pouring out money in propaganda of all sorts and are hoping by this organised sustained mass suggestion to eradicate from our minds all memory of what we went through

 

[madasafish]

In the end it's just the present government looking at their honorary directorships etc. for when they retire - legislate and tie up everything so it's controlled by big business so they can profit from the great unwashed.
If they had their way they'd abolish home ownership and make slum dwellings compulsory.
Nye Bevans words from 1948 are as relevant now as they always have been.

Typical ignorance.

If you read the legislation - instead of ranting - you would see it is EU legislation .. brought into UK law.

see..Page 5
Legislation and Guidance
European Community Law
3. In November 2001, the main Community provisions relating to veterinary medicines
were consolidated into a new directive – Directive 2001/82/EC on the Community
code relating to veterinary medicinal products (VMPs). Following an extensive
review of the operation of the Community procedures this was amended by Directive
2004/28/EC of 31 March 2004. Any reference to ‘the Directive’ should be taken as
Directive 2001/82/EC as amended by Directive 2004/28/EC.
4. Regulation (EEC) No 2309/93 established a Community “centralised” authorisation
procedure and a European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EC) No
726/2004. This sets out current provisions for the European centralised authorisation
procedure under which the European Commission may issue a marketing
authorisation (MA) that is valid in all Member States (MS). It also sets out modified
provisions for the structure and operation of the European Agency and relevant
committees.
5. Additionally, Commission Regulations (EC) No 1084/2003 and 1085/2003 control the
variation of Marketing Authorisations (MA) issued under the centralised and
decentralised/mutual recognition procedures respectively. Separate European Union
(EU) legislation applies to controls on residues of veterinary medicines in animals
and foodstuffs, which are outside the scope of this VMGN.
6. EU legislation for veterinary medicines is published by the European Commission in
The Rules Governing Medicinal Products in the European Union, Volume 5 -
Pharmaceutical Legislation, Veterinary Medicinal Products, which is updated
periodically to take account of new legislation. This and other volumes in the same
series are available on the Commission website:
http://www.ec.europa.eu/health/index_en.htm or in print from The Stationery Office
Ltd (telephone: 0870 600 5533) or from the Office for Official Publications of the
European Communities in Luxembourg:
http://www.publications.europa.eu/index_en.htm EU legislative documents are also
available individually on the internet:
http://www.europa.eu/documentation/legislation/index_en.htm

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

You make what you want of it, it's this government that has pushed it through and it will get worse not better after brexit. It's strange how other European countries live with the legislation happily enough and apply common sense. It's only here it gets to be a problem.
Fisheries is a prime example - we're the only country forcing our fleets to wipe out fish stocks and dump them back in the sea to rot.

 

[user 6228]

Typical ignorance.

If you read the legislation - instead of ranting - you would see it is EU legislation .. brought into UK law.

...

EU legislation, gold plated in whitehall, brought into UK law

 

[REDWOOD]

Perhaps it's all a rehearsal for leaving the EU? Without Europe throwing numerous regulations at us we will have to make up lots for ourselves

We could just use the ones that we had before we joined the EU, or is that too easy to do

 

[Mint Bee]

out with the old and in with the new!!

However as one bits the dust, another is rubberstamped for use.... prior to official authorisation. If you dig further the reported efficacy at 80% is below the recommended 90% for Varroa product guidance, so needs support from IPC/ IPM.....mmmm

New medicine to protect honey bees against Varroa mites
VarroMed recommended for marketing authorisation
At its October meeting, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended the granting of a marketing authorisation in the European Union (EU) for VarroMed (oxalic acid dihydrate / formic acid). This antiparasitic medicine treats the Varroa mite infestation in honey-bee colonies, which is considered to be the most significant parasitic health concern affecting honey bees worldwide.
Honey bees are essential for pollination of crops and wild plants in Europe. The European Commission estimates that pollinators, including honey bees, bumble bees and wild bees, contribute at least 22 billion euros each year to European agriculture and pollinate over 80% of crops and wild plants on the continent.
However, beekeepers around the world have reported losses of honey-bee colonies, which are considered to be caused by a combination of different factors such as habitat loss, climate change, pesticide use, and also diseases affecting bee health. A continued decline of these pollinators could lead to serious biological, agricultural, environmental and economic difficulties.
The main parasite affecting honey bees is the Varroa mite (Varroa destructor), an invasive species from Asia that has affected bee colonies worldwide. The Varroa mite feeds on the circulatory fluid of bees and brood (bee larvae) and can also contribute to the spread of viruses and bacteria.
VarroMed is intended to kill Varroa mites and is a liquid which is trickled onto bees in the hive. It contains as active substance a fixed combination of two organic acids, oxalic acid dihydrate and formic acid. Both substances have been known in veterinary medicine for a long time and are either naturally present in foods or accepted for use in foods. The medicine is not expected to pose a risk to human or animal health or the environment, if used according to the product information.
VarroMed is intended to be used as part of an integrated Varroa control programme, which includes not only treatment with medicines but also non-chemical techniques like queen trapping or drone brood removal. It can be used either as a single-dose treatment during the broodless period (winter treatment) or in the presence of brood (spring or autumn), which will usually require repeated treatments.
Treatment should only be given at times when honey is not produced by bees.


http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB...thorisation/veterinary/002723/WC500213917.pdf

http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/index....news_detail_002614.jsp&mid=WC0b01ac058004d5c1

 

[GaryB]

Well if the current governments plan for Brexit goes ahead, and they get their Great Repeal Bill through Parliament, under it's provisions, all EU law will be incorporated into UK law. Once that is achieved, then it would be up to our politicians to trawl through the legislation, and see what we are keeping and what we are throwing out. If the particular legislation relating to VMP's is visited by our lawmakers, maybe they will revise it. However, I'm not holding my breath on that.

 

[ladaok]

haha, you think you've got it tough, if you have nought to do, sift though our regs / laws on honey production, extraction / bottling / labelling etc

I don't really want to try and interpret you situation, .. but it seems that HOW you market, a product, allied to the bee gets you through the door. Manuka honey is a case in point