Proposed Maximum Residue Limit PMRL2012-28, Desmedipham

Notice to the reader: The online consultation is now closed. Comments and suggestions received during the public consultation period are being considered in the finalization of this document. The final report will be made available as soon as possible.

Pest Management Regulatory Agency
11 June 2012
ISSN: 1925-0843 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2012-28E-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 desmedipham on sugar beets and spinach to permit the import and sale of foods containing such residues.

Desmedipham is an herbicide currently registered in Canada for use on red garden (table) beets and sugar beets.

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

Consultation on the proposed import MRLs for desmedipham 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 MRL already established for desmedipham, are as follows.

Table 1 - Proposed Maximum Residue Limit for Desmedipham

Common Name	Residue Definition	MRL (ppm)Table 1 footnote *	Food Commodity
Table 1 footnotes Table 1 footnote 1 = parts per million Return to table 1 footnote ppm referrer Table 1 footnote a The 0.05 ppm MRL currently established for sugar beet roots is proposed for revision to 0.1 ppm to accommodate the importation of treated commodities. Return to table 1 footnote a referrer
Desmedipham	ethyl [3-[[(phenylamino)carbonyl]oxy]phenyl] carbamate	6.0	Spinach
		0.1	Sugar beet rootsTable 1 footnote a

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 MRLs proposed for desmedipham in Canada are the same as corresponding tolerances 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 desmedipham 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 desmedipham 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 desmedipham and posting a corresponding Established Maximum Residue Limit document in the Pesticides and Pest Management section of Health Canada's website.