Proposed Maximum Residue Limit PMRL2012-02, Fludioxonil

Pest Management Regulatory Agency
20 March 2012
ISSN: 1925-0843 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2012-02E-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 fludioxonil in or on various fruits, herbs and vegetables to permit the import and sale of foods containing such residues.

Fludioxonil is a fungicide currently registered in Canada for use on a number of food commodities.

The PMRA has determined the quantity of residues that are likely to remain in or on the imported food commodities when fludioxonil 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}

In accordance with Table 1, most of the MRLs included herein are proposed to revise existing MRLs previously established based upon the use of fludioxonil in Canada as a seed treatment.

Consultation on the proposed import MRLs for fludioxonil 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 in Canada in or on food, to replace or be added to the MRLs already established for fludioxonil, are as follows.

Table 1 - Proposed Maximum Residue Limits for Fludioxonil

Common Name	Residue Definition	MRL (ppm)	Food Commodity
Table 1 footnotes Table 1 footnote 1 The MRL is proposed to replace the currently established 0.02 ppm MRL for all crop group commodities. Return to table 1 footnote A referrer Table 1 footnote 2 The MRL is proposed to replace the currently established MRLs of 8.0 ppm for turnip tops and 0.02 ppm for all other crop group food commodities. Return to table 1 footnote C referrer Table 1 footnote 3 The MRL is proposed to replace the currently established 0.02 ppm MRL for all crop group commodities except true yam tubers for which an 8.0 ppm MRL is currently established. Return to table 1 footnote C referrer Table 1 footnote 4 The MRL is proposed to replace the currently established 0.02 ppm MRL for all crop group commodities except carrot roots for which a 0.75 ppm MRL is already established. Return to table 1 footnote D referrer Table 1 footnote 5 The MRL is proposed to replace the currently established 0.01 ppm MRL. Return to table 1 footnote E referrer
Fludioxonil	4-(2,2-difluoro-1,3-benzodioxol-4-yl)-1H-pyrrole-3-carbonitrile	65	Herbs (Crop Subgroup 19A; dried leaves)Footnote A
		30	Leaves of root and tuber vegetables (Crop Group 2)Footnote B
		10	Herbs (Crop Subgroup 19A; fresh leaves)
		3.5	Tuberous and corm vegetables except potato (Crop Subgroup 1D, except true yam tubers)Footnote C
		0.75	Root vegetables except sugar beet (Crop Subgroup 1B, except carrot roots)Footnote D
		0.5	TomatoesFootnote E, tomatillos
		0.45	Cucurbit vegetables (Crop Group 9), avocados, black sapotes, canistels, mamey sapotes, mangoes, papayas, sapodillas, star apples

MRLs are proposed for each commodity included in the listed crop groupings 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 MRLs for fludioxonil in Canada are the same as the corresponding tolerances established in the United States (tolerances are listed in the  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR Part 180, by pesticide). Codex Alimentarius MRLs^{Footnote 2} have been established for a limited number of commodities included in this action in accordance with Table 2. A listing of established Codex MRLs is available on the Codex Alimentarius  Pesticide Residues in Food webpage.

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

Food Commodity	Canadian MRL (ppm)	American Tolerance (ppm)	Codex MRL (ppm)
Herbs (Crop Subgroup 19A; dried leaves)	65	65	50 (basil and chives)
Leaves of root and tuber vegetables (Crop Group 2)	30	30	Not established
Herbs (Crop Subgroup 19A; fresh leaves)	10	10	10 (basil and chives)
Tuberous and corm vegetables except potato (Crop Subgroup 1D, except true yam tubers)	3.5	3.5	10 (sweet potatoes)
Root vegetables except sugar beet (Crop Subgroup 1B, except carrot roots)	0.75	0.75	Not established
Tomatoes	0.5	0.5	0.5
Tomatillos	0.5	0.5	Not established
Cucurbit vegetables (Crop Group 9)	0.45	0.45	0.3 (cucumber and summer squash) 0.03 (melons, except watermelon)
Avocados, black sapotes, canistels, mamey sapotes, mangoes, papayas, sapodillas, star apples	0.45	0.45	Not established

Next Steps

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