Proposed Maximum Residue Limit PMRL2013-07, Fluroxypyr-meptyl

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
18 March 2013
ISSN: 1925-0843 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2013-7E-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 grass grown for seed production, newly established grass pastures and established grass pasturesto the product label of GF-184 Herbicide, containing technical grade fluroxypyr and florasulam, is acceptable. The specific uses approved in Canada are detailed on the label of GF-184 Herbicide, Pest Control Products Act Registration Number 29286.

The evaluation of this 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 registrations can be found in the corresponding Evaluation Report 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 use on crops consumed by livestock in Canada, the PMRA must determine the quantity of residues that are likely to remain in livestock food commodities 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).

Consultation on the proposed livestock MRLs for fluroxypyr-meptyl is being conducted via this document (see Next Steps). MRLs for florasulam are not being proposed as a result of this submission.

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 established for fluroxypyr-meptyl, are as follows.

Table 1 - Proposed Maximum Residue Limits for Fluroxypyr-meptyl

Common Name	Residue Definition	MRL (Table 1 footnote ppm)	Food Commodity
Table 1 footnotes Table 1 footnote 1 = parts per million Return to table 1 footnote ppm referrer
Fluroxypyr-meptyl	1-methylheptyl [(4-amino-3,5-dichloro-6-fluoro-2-pyridinyl) oxy]acetate and the metabolite [(4-amino-3,5-dichloro-6-fluoro-2-pyridinyl)oxy]acetic acid	0.5	Kidney of cattle, goats, hogs, horses and sheep
		0.1	Fat, meat and meat byproducts (except kidney) of cattle, goats, hogs, horses and sheep; milk

MRLs established in Canada may be found using the  Maximum Residue Limit Database on the Maximum Residue Limits for Pesticides webpage. The database allows users to search for pesticide(s) or for food commodity(ies).

International Situation and Trade Implications

MRLs may vary from one country to another for a number of reasons. For livestock commodities, differences in MRLs may be due to different livestock feed items and practices.

Table 2 compares the MRLs proposed for fluroxypyr-meptyl in Canada with corresponding tolerances established in the United States (tolerances are listed in the  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR Part 180). Currently, there are no Codex MRLs^{Footnote 2} listed for fluroxypyr-meptyl in or on any commodity on the Codex Alimentarius  Pesticide Residues in Food webpage.

Table 2 - Comparison of Canadian MRLs and American Tolerances

Food Commodity	Canadian MRL (ppm)	American Tolerance (ppm)
Kidney of cattle, goats, hogs, horses and sheep	0.5	1.5
Fat, meat and meat byproducts (except kidney) of cattle, goats, hogs, horses and sheep	0.1	0.1
Milk	0.1	0.3

Next Steps

The PMRA invites the public to submit written comments on the proposed MRLs for fluroxypyr-meptyl 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. Comments received will be addressed in a separate document linked to this PMRL. The established MRLs will be legally in effect as of the date that they are entered into the  Maximum Residue Limit Database.