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Proposed Maximum Residue Limit PMRL2011-52, Clethodim

Pest Management Regulatory Agency
16 December 2011
ISSN: 1925-0843 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2011-52E-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 highbush blueberries to the product labels of Centurion and Select Emulsifiable Concentrate Post-Emergence Herbicides, containing technical grade clethodim, is acceptable. The specific uses approved in Canada are detailed on the Centurion and Select labels, Pest Control Products Act Registration Numbers 27598 and 22625, respectively.

The evaluation of these clethodim applications indicated that the end-use products have 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 MRL for clethodim 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 MRL in Canada in or on food, to be added to the MRLs already legally established for clethodim, is as follows.

The MRL is proposed for each commodity included in the bushberry subgroup 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

The proposed MRL for clethodim in Canada is the same as the corresponding bushberry subgroup tolerance established in the United States (tolerances are listed in the  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR Part 180, by pesticide). Currently, there are no Codex MRLs^{Footnote 2} listed for clethodim on berries on the Codex Alimentarius Pesticide Residues in Food webpage.

Next Steps

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