Molybdenum EDTA chelate authorised for honeybees: 8 mg per hive per feeding, not with honey supers in place and not in the two months before honey harvest — molybdenum determined by ICP-AES and ICP-MS
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2027 of 10 September 2026, published on 11 September, authorises until 1 October 2036 molybdenum EDTA chelate (Oligofeed SAS) as a zootechnical additive — a physiological condition stabiliser for honeybees improving winter survival. The applicant withdrew the application for bumblebees and asked for a change from the nutritional category: EFSA found no evidence of molybdenum deficiency in honeybee diets but concluded that the additive has the potential to be efficacious as a zootechnical one.
- Dose: 8 mg of additive per feeding and per hive, in sugar-based compound feed — corresponding to 2 litres of syrup containing 4 mg of additive per litre, i.e. 2.9 mg/kg of feed with 30 % moisture. The additive contains 27–31 % molybdenum; five batches had 28.44 % (27.8–28.96).
- Methods: total molybdenum in the additive — ICP-AES (EN 15510), in compound feed — ICP-MS (EN 17053); sodium — ICP-AES (EN 15510 or EN 15621) or AAS (ISO 6869); the molybdate–EDTA chelate is confirmed qualitatively by FT-IR spectroscopy.
- According to EFSA, recovery from syrup with 2 mg of additive per litre was 95 % after 14 months, and the coefficient of variation in the homogeneity test in commercial sugar syrup was 1.5 %. In five batches of the additive arsenic was 0.22–1.1 mg/kg and lead < 0.02 mg/kg; the dusting potential was 233–425 mg/m³.
- Efficacy was assessed in field trials with honeybee colonies in France, Greece and Spain, with analytical confirmation of molybdenum in the syrup, and in a published study from Moldova (2 mg per hive, sugar-honey candy, no molybdenum analysis). The ban on use with honey supers and before harvest is meant to prevent honey adulteration; EFSA found no risk to the environment (PEC soil for molybdenum 1.26 ng/kg).