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Proposed Maximum Residue Limit PMRL2011-47, Glyphosate

This content was archived on June 24, 2013.

Pest Management Regulatory Agency
8 December 2011
ISSN: 1925-0843 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2011-47E-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 mustard seed (condiment and oilseed types) to the product label of Roundup WeatherMAX with Transorb 2 Technology Liquid Herbicide, containing technical grade glyphosate, is acceptable. The specific uses approved in Canada are detailed on the Roundup WeatherMAX label, Pest Control Products Act Registration Number 27487.

The evaluation of this glyphosate 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 glyphosate 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.

MRLs are proposed for the rapeseed subgroup (Crop Subgroup 20A), except flax and rapeseeds (canola) for which MRLs are currently established. The proposed MRLs in Canada in or on food, to be added to the MRLs already legally established for glyphosate, 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 field crop trials used to generate residue chemistry data. As per Table 2, the MRLs proposed for glyphosate in Canada differ from the corresponding tolerances established in the United States (tolerances listed in the  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR Part 180, by pesticide). Currently, Codex MRLs^{Footnote 2} have not been established for glyphosate on any commodities included in this MRL action. 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 MRLs for glyphosate 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 glyphosate and posting a corresponding Established Maximum Residue Limit document in the Pesticides and Pest Management section of Health Canada's website.