Pest Management Regulatory Agency
22 March 2011
ISSN: 1925-0843 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2011-04E-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 fluroxypyr-meptyl on pome fruits (Crop Group 11-09), barley, dry bulb onions, field corn, oats, sorghum, sweet corn kernels plus cob with husks removed and wheat to permit the import and sale of foods containing such residues.

Fluroxypyr-meptyl is a herbicide currently registered for food use in Canada on spring barley and wheat.

The PMRA has determined the quantity of residues that are likely to remain in or on the imported food commodities when fluroxypyr-meptyl 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 import MRLs can be found in the corresponding Evaluation Report that is available in the Pesticides and Pest Management section of Health Canada's website, under Public Registry, Pesticide Product Information Database.^{Footnote 1}

Consultation on the proposed MRLs for fluroxypyr-meptyl 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 fluroxypyr-meptyl in Canada in or on food are as follows.

Table 1 - Proposed Maximum Residue Limits for Fluroxypyr-Meptyl

Common Name	Residue Definition	MRL (ppm)	Food Commodity
Fluroxypyr-meptyl	1-methylheptyl [(4-amino-3,5-dichloro-6-fluoro-2-pyridinyl)oxy] acetate, including the metabolite [(4-amino-3,5-dichloro-6-fluoro-2-pyridinyl)oxy]acetic acid	0.5	Barley, oats, wheat
		0.03	Dry bulb onions
		0.02	Pome fruits (Crop Group 11-09), field corn, sorghum, sweet corn kernels plus cob with husks removed

MRLs are proposed for each commodity included in the pome fruits crop group in accordance with the Residue Chemistry Crop Groups webpage in the Pesticides and Pest Management section of Health Canada's website.

A complete list of all pesticide 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

Table 2 compares the proposed MRLs for fluroxypyr-meptyl in Canada with the corresponding tolerances established in the United States (tolerances are listed in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR Part 180, by pesticide). The only distinction between Canada and the United States is that the American tolerance for pome fruits is limited to Crop Group 11 rather than the expanded Crop Group 11-09 for which Canadian MRLs are proposed.

Currently, Codex Alimentarius MRLs^{Footnote 2} have not been established for fluroxypyr-meptyl on any commodity. A listing of all established Codex MRLs is available on the Codex Alimentarius Pesticide Residues in Food website.

Table 2 - Comparison of Canadian MRLs and American Tolerances

Food Commodity	Canadian MRL (ppm)	American Tolerance (ppm)
Barley, oats, wheat	0.5	0.5
Dry bulb onions	0.03	0.03
Apples, Asian pears, crabapples, loquats, mayhaws, pears, quinces	0.02	0.02
Azaroles, Chinese quinces, Japanese quinces, medlars, tejocotes	0.02	Not established
Field corn, sorghum, sweet corn kernels plus cob with husks removed	0.02	0.02

Next Steps

The PMRA invites the public to submit written comments on the proposed import MRLs for fluroxypyr-meptyl 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 MRLs and posting a corresponding Established Maximum Residue Limit document in the Pesticides and Pest Management section of Health Canada's website.