Pest Management Regulatory Agency
25 May 2011
ISSN: 1925-0843 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2011-11E-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 Clearfield sunflowers to the product label of Odyssey WDG Herbicide, containing technical grade imazamox and imazethapyr, is acceptable. The specific uses approved in Canada are detailed on the label of Odyssey WDG Herbicide, Pest Control Products Act Registration Number 25111.

The evaluation of this imazamox 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 Web site, 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 MRL for imazamox is being conducted via this document (see Next Steps).

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 MRL for imazamox in Canada in or on food, to replace the MRL already legally established, is as follows.

Table 1 - Proposed Maximum Residue Limit for Imazamox

Common Name	Residue Definition	MRL (parts per million)	Food Commodity
Imazamox	2-[4,5-dihydro-4-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-5-oxo-1H-imidazol-2-yl]-5-(methoxymetyl)-3-pyridinecarboxylic acid	0.3*	Sunflower seeds

* The MRL is proposed to replace the 0.05 ppm MRL currently established for sunflower seeds based upon the submitted field-trial residue data.

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

International Situation and Trade Implications

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has established an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of imazamox in or on all food commodities when applied as an herbicide in accordance with good agricultural practices (see the  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR Section 180.1223). Currently, Codex Alimentarius MRLs^{Footnote 2} have not been established for imazamox on any commodity. A listing of all established Codex MRLs is available on the Codex Alimentarius  Pesticide Residues in Food Web site.

Next Steps

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