24 February 2010
HC Pub: 100053
ISBN: 978-1-100-14387-3 (print version)
ISBN: 978-1-100-14388-0 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2010-13E (print version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2010-13E-PDF (PDF version)

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Under the authority of the Pest Control Products Act, Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is proposing to establish maximum residue limits (MRLs) for pyrimethanil in or on pome fruits (Crop Group 11) to permit the import and sale of foods containing these residues.

Pyrimethanil is a fungicide currently registered in Canada for use on a number of fruits and vegetables.

The PMRA has determined the quantity of residues that are likely to remain in or on the imported food commodities when pyrimethanil is used according to label directions in the exporting country. The Agency has also determined that such residues will not be a concern to human health and is proposing to legally establish corresponding import MRLs. 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.

Details regarding the proposed MRLs can be found in the corresponding Evaluation Report that is available on the Pesticides and Pest Management portion of Health Canada's website, under Public Registry, Pesticide Product Information Database.¹

Consultation on the proposed import MRLs for pyrimethanil is being conducted via this document (see Next Steps, the last section of this document).

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 pyrimethanil in Canada in or on food, to replace the corresponding MRLs already legally established, are as follows.

A complete list of all MRLs established in Canada can be found on the Maximum Residue Limits for Pesticides webpage in the Pesticides and Pest Management section of Health Canada's website.

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 MRL proposed for pyrimethanil in or on pome fruits in Canada is the same as the corresponding tolerance established in the United States (tolerances are listed in the  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations by pesticide) but differs from the Codex² MRL. A listing of established Codex MRLs is available on the Codex Alimentarius  Pesticide Residues in Food website.

Next Steps

The PMRA invites the public to submit written comments on the proposed import MRLs for pyrimethanil up to 75 days from the date of publication of this document. Please forward your comments to Publications. The PMRA will consider all comments received before making a final decision on the proposed import MRLs for pyrimethanil and posting a corresponding Established Maximum Residue Limit in the Pesticides and Pest Management section of Health Canada's website.