Irreproachability, however, can have its own pitfalls, and as soon as the five finalists were announced in September - one fewer than the customary six - the panel was in effect accused of playing it safe.

It shows the way for further improvements in the sector, towards more efficient and safer plant protection products, and is flexible enough to avoid situations in which the ban on certain pesticides would, in the final analysis, reduce the irreproachability of agricultural products.