"has a similar study been repeated for version 2? It was recently approved for use in Canada."

This is not to say that Hopguard does not work.  I have never used it and have no opinion on it.

You need to remember that pesticide registrations the world over say nothing at all about efficacy of the product.  Every pesticide regulatory agency views efficacy as something between the seller and user and if the user is not satisfied he is free to go to court and sue for damages.  

Pesticide registration agencies are concerned with three things:
1. Is the product safe to the applicator when applied according to label directions?  In the US you must have a pesticide applicators license to buy and use many products.  This is to insure the applicator has the technical knowledge and skills to follow the label and avoid self exposure.  That does not mean over the counter pesticides can be viewed as harmless.  Many can kill you if you are sloppy enough.  But in general the over the counter products are viewed as much safer to use than restricted products.
2.  Is the product safe to the consumer of foods treated with that pesticide according to the label?  There is a long, convoluted process to determine safety to the consumer.  First you must do tox studies that show what the maximum no effect exposure is.  In the US the allowable daily exposure allowed ranges from 1% to 0.1% of the no effect level and assumes 100% of each crop on the label is treated (which is never the case).  Then you must do residue studies on all products on the label where the crop is treated, harvested, cleaned and shipped via normal practices for that crop.  The residues on each crop are added up and once you have used up your allowable daily intake no more crops will be registered.
3.  Is the product safe to the environment?

A no answer to any of those factors means no registration is granted.  

FDA on the contrary is interested in those three factors for drugs, but to a considerably lower extent than EPA worries about for a pesticide.   In addition FDA requires data showing the product does have efficacy.  FDA is perfectly happy to register a drug if they judge its use will save or improve more lives than it kills or harms.  If FDA did not take this stance there would be no drugs on the market.  All drugs have side effects.  For some % of individuals those side effects can be bad.  I know of several drugs which I do not tolerate and if I had stayed on them would have suffered permanent life altering damage.  It was a personal miserable experience every time.  The last one caused neuropathy in my hands and feet to the point I could not stand with my eyes shut as I had no feeling in my feet other than pain and would simply tip over.  It took me eight months to recover after I stopped the drug which I only took for three months.  Only about 2% of those taking that drug have the problem I had even if they take it for years.  I hated to have to stop that drug as it was doing the positive things it was supposed to do very well and there are no good alternatives.

For natural products like Hopguard the EPA does lower the bar considerably for all three of those items listed.  The assumption is it is a natural product so you could be exposed to it in the normal food you eat.  In the case of Hopguard I suppose all the components are in beer for instance.  So, for natural products you are much less sure that if used according to the label the product is actually safe.

Dick

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