21 November 2008
ISBN: 978-1-100-10801-8 (978-1-100-10802-5)
Cat. No.: H113-24/2008-41E (H113-24/2008-41E-PDF)

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Under the authority of the Pest Control Products Act, Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has concluded that the addition of a new use on lupins (dry beans of Lupinus spp.) to the product label of Poast Ultra Liquid Emulsifiable Herbicide, containing technical grade sethoxydim, is acceptable. The specific use approved in Canada is detailed on the label of Poast Ultra Liquid Emulsifiable Herbicide, Pest Control Products Act Registration Number 24835.

The evaluation of this sethoxydim application indicated that the end-use product has merit and value and that the human health and environmental risks associated with its use are acceptable. Details regarding the registration can be found in the corresponding Evaluation Report that is available on the PMRA website, under Public Registry, Product Information, Current Applications.¹

Before registering a pesticide for food use in Canada, the PMRA must determine the quantity of residues that are likely to remain in or on the food when the pesticide is used according to label directions and that such residues will not pose an unacceptable health risk. This quantity is then legally established as a maximum residue limit (MRL). An MRL applies to the identified raw agricultural food commodity as well as to any processed food product that contains it, except where separate MRLs are specified for the raw agricultural commodity and a processed product made from it.

Consultation on the proposed MRL for sethoxydim is being conducted via this document (see Next Steps).

To comply with Canada's international trade obligations, consultation on the proposed MRLs is also being conducted internationally by notifying the World Trade Organization, as coordinated by the Standards Council of Canada.

The proposed MRLs for sethoxydim in Canada in or on food, to be added to those already legally established, are as follows.

Table 1 Proposed Maximum Residue Limits for Sethoxydim

Common Name	Residue Definition	Proposed MRL (ppm)	Food Commodity
Sethoxydim	(±)-2-[1-(ethoxyimino)butyl]-5-[2(ethylthio)propyl]- 3-hydroxy-2-cyclohexen-1-one and metabolites containing the cyclohexen-2-one moiety expressed as sethoxydim	10	Grain lupin

A complete list of all MRLs established in Canada can be found on the PMRA's MRL webpage.

International Situation and Trade Implications

MRLs may vary from one country to another for a number of reasons, including differences in pesticide use patterns and the locations of the crop field trials used to generate residue chemistry data. As per Table 2, the proposed MRL in Canada differs from the corresponding tolerance established in the United States (tolerances listed in  40 CFR Part 180 by pesticide) Currently, Codex MRLs² have not been established for sethoxydim on any commodity ( Codex MRLs searchable by pesticide or commodity).

Table 2 Comparison of Canadian MRLs, American Tolerances and Codex MRLs

Food Commodity	Canadian MRL(ppm)	American Tolerance (ppm)	Codex MRL (ppm)
Grain lupin	10	25*	No Codex MRL established

* Covered by the tolerance established for "Pea and bean, dried shelled, except soybean, subgroup 6C".

Next Steps

The PMRA invites the public to submit written comments on the proposed MRL for sethoxydim up to 75 days from the date of publication of this document. Please forward your comments to Publications (see contact information on the cover page of this document). The PMRA will consider all comments received before making a final decision on the proposed MRLs for sethoxydim and posting an Established Maximum Residue Limit (EMRL) document on the PMRA's website.

References