25 November 2008
ISBN: 978-1-100-10980-0 (978-1-100-10981-7)
Cat. No.: H113-24/2008-46E (H113-24/2008-46E-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 new uses on ginseng, nectarines, peaches and sweet potatoes to the product label of Admire 240 Flowable Systemic Insecticide, containing technical grade imidacloprid, is acceptable. The specific uses approved in Canada are detailed on the label of Admire 240 Flowable Systemic Insecticide, Pest Control Products Act Registration Number 24094.

The evaluation of these imidacloprid applications indicated that the end-use product has merit and value and that the human health and environmental risks associated with the new 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 imidacloprid 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 MRL for imidacloprid in or on food, to be added to those already legally established, are as follows.

Table 1 Proposed Maximum Residue Limits for Imidacloprid

Common Name	Residue Definition	MRL (ppm)	Food Commodity
Imidacloprid	1-[(6-chloro-3-pyridinyl)methyl]-N-nitro-2-imidazolidinimine, including metabolites containing the 6-chloropicolyl moiety2	1.1	Nectarines, peaches
		0.3	Sweet potato roots
		0.05	Ginseng roots

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 field crop trials used to generate residue chemistry data. As per Table 2, the proposed MRLs in Canada differ from the corresponding tolerances established in the United States (tolerances listed in  40 CFR Part 180 by pesticide) and from the Codex MRL³ established on stone fruit ( 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)
Nectarines, peaches	1.1	3.0*	0.5
Sweet potato roots	0.3	0.4**	No MRL established
Ginseng roots	0.05	0.4**	No MRL established

Next Steps

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

References