Proposed Maximum Residue Limit PMRL2012-45, Prothioconazole

Pest Management Regulatory Agency
15 November, 2012
ISSN: 1925-0843 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2012-45E-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 granted full registration to the end-use product Emesto Silver, containing technical grade prothioconazole and penflufen, for potato seed piece treatment. The specific uses approved in Canada are detailed on the product label of Emesto Silver, Pest Control Products Act Registration Number 30361.

The evaluation of these applications indicated that the end-use products have merit and value and the human health and environmental risks associated with the new use pattern are acceptable. Details regarding the registrations can be found in the corresponding Evaluation Reports 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 prothioconazole is being conducted via this document (see Next Steps). MRL consultation for penflufen was conducted under Proposed Registration Decision PRD2012-02, published on 16 January 2012.

To comply with Canada's international trade obligations, consultation on the proposed MRL 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 prothioconazole, is as follows.

Table 1 - Proposed Maximum Residue Limits for Prothioconazole

Common Name	Residue Definition	MRL (ppm)	Food Commodity
Table 1 footnotes Table 1 footnote 1 = parts per million Return to table 1 footnote ppm referrer
Prothioconazole	2-[2-(1-chlorocyclopropyl)-3-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-hydroxypropyl]-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thione, including the metabolite α-(1-chlorocyclopropyl)-α-[(2-chlorophenyl) methyl]-1H-1,2,4-triazole-1-ethanol	0.02	Tuberous and corm vegetables (Crop Subgroup 1C)

MRLs are proposed for each commodity included in the tuberous and corm vegetable 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 pesticide MRLs established in Canada, as of the date indicated, 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 MRL proposed for prothioconazole in Canada is consistent with the 0.02 ppm tolerance for potatoes currently established in the United States; however, the proposed Canadian MRL is the same as a corresponding tolerance to be promulgated in the United States. Once established, the American tolerance for the tuberous and corm vegetables subgroup will be listed in the  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR Part 180.

There are no Codex MRLs.^{Footnote 2} listed for prothioconazole in or on tuberous and corm vegetables 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 prothioconazole 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 and posting a corresponding Established Maximum Residue Limit document in the Pesticides and Pest Management section of Health Canada's website.