Pest Management Regulatory Agency
30 June 2011
ISSN: 1925-0843 (online version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2011-06E-PDF (PDF version)

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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 millet and sorghum to the product label of Basagran Forte Herbicide (Liquid), containing technical grade bentazon, is acceptable. The specific uses approved in Canada are detailed on the label of Basagran Forte Herbicide (Liquid), Pest Control Products Act Registration Number 22006.

The evaluation of this bentazon application indicated that the end-use product has merit and value and the human health and environmental risks associated with the new uses are acceptable. Details regarding the registration 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}

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 be a concern to human health. 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 MRLs for bentazon 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 MRL is also being conducted internationally by notifying the  World Trade Organization, as coordinated by the  Standards Council of Canada.

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

Table 1 - Proposed Maximum Residue Limits for Bentazon

Common Name	Residue Definition	MRL (ppm)	Food Commodity
Bentazon	3-(1-methylethyl)-1H-2,1,3-benzothiadiazin-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide, including the metabolites 6-hydroxy-3-(1-methylethyl)-1H-2,1,3-benzothiadiazin-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide and 8-hydroxy-3-(1-methylethyl)-1H-2,1,3-benzothiadiazin-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide	0.15	Pearl millet, proso millet, sorghum

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

MRLs may vary from one country to another for a number of reasons, including differences in pesticide use patterns and the locations of field crop trials used to generate supporting residue chemistry data. As per Table 2, the proposed MRLs for bentazon in Canada differ from the corresponding American tolerances and Codex Alimentarius MRLs^{Footnote 2}. American tolerances are listed in the  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR Part 180, by pesticide. A listing of all established Codex MRLs is available on the Codex Alimentarius  Pesticide Residues in Food website.

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

Food Commodity	Canadian MRL (ppm)	American Tolerance (ppm)	Codex MRL (ppm)
Pearl millet, proso millet	0.15	Not established	Not established
Sorghum	0.15	0.05	0.1

Next Steps

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