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Proposed Maximum Residue Limit PMRL2012-04, Fluazifop-butyl

Pest Management Regulatory Agency
28 February 2012
ISSN: 1925-0843 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2012-4E-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 dry edible beans to the product label of Venture L Herbicide, containing technical grade fluazifop-p-butyl, is acceptable. The specific uses approved in Canada are detailed on the label of Venture L Herbicide, Pest Control Products Act Registration Number 21209.

The evaluation of this fluazifop-p-butyl 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.

Residues of fluazifop-p-butyl, the resolved (R)-isomer, are covered by MRLs established for fluazifop-butyl, the unresolved isomeric mixture. Consultation on the proposed MRLs for fluazifop-butyl 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 be added to the MRLs already legally established for fluazifop-butyl, 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 proposed Canadian MRL for fluazifop-butyl in or on dry beans differs from the corresponding 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 fluazifop-butyl in or on any commodity on the Codex Alimentarius  Pesticide Residues in Food webpage.

Next Steps

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