Proposed Maximum Residue Limit PMRL2013-10, Propiconazole

Response to Comments Received on WTO Notification (PMRL2013-10)

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
21 March 2013
ISSN: 1925-0843 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2013-10E-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 propiconazole in or on various commodities to permit the import and sale of foods containing such residues.

Propiconazole is a fungicide registered for use in Canada on a number of cereals, fruits, legumes and vegetables.

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

Consultation on the proposed MRLs for propiconazole is being conducted via this document (see Next Steps).

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 propiconazole, are as follows.

Table 1 - Proposed Maximum Residue Limits for Propiconazole

Common Name	Residue Definition	MRL (Table 1 footnote ppm)	Food Commodity
Footnotes Footnote 1 = parts per million Return to table 1 footnote ppm referrer Footnote 2 The MRL is proposed to replace the currently established 0.05 ppm MRL. Return to table 1 footnote a referrer Footnote 3 Strawberries are excluded from this MRL action as a 1.3 ppm MRL is already established for the commodity. Return to table 1 footnote b referrer Footnote 4 The MRL is proposed to replace the currently established 0.7 ppm MRL for Crop Subgroup 13A (blackberries, loganberries, raspberries) and add an MRL for the remaining commodity in the expanded Subgroup 13-07A. Return to table 1 footnote c referrer Footnote 5 The MRL is proposed to replace the currently established 0.7 ppm MRL for Crop Subgroup 13B (blueberries, currants, elderberries, gooseberries, huckleberries) and add MRLs for the remaining commodities in the expanded Subgroup 13-07B. Note that lingonberries and lowbush blueberries are excluded as the same commodities are also included in Subgroup 13-07G, for which a higher MRL is proposed. Return to table 1 footnote d referrer
Propiconazole	1-[[2-(2,4-diclorophenyl)-4-propyl-1,3-dioxolan-2-yl]methyl]-1H-1,2,4-triazole, including all metabolites containing the 2,4-dichlorophenyl-1-methyl substituted moiety	35	Dried parsley leaves
		15	Rice bran
		13	Fresh parsley leaves, fresh coriander leaves
		10	Peppermint tops, spearmint tops
		9.0	Green onion (Crop Subgroup 3-07B)
		7.0	RiceTableau 1 note de bas de page a
		5.5	Garden beet tops
		5.0	Leaf petioles (Crop Subgroup 4B)
		4.5	Pineapples
		3.5	Sorghuma
		1.5	Sugar beet molasses
		1.3	Low-growing berry (Crop Subgroup 13-07G; except strawberries)Footnote b
		1.0	Caneberry (Crop Subgroup 13-07A)Footnote c, bushberry (Crop Subgroup 13-07B; excluding lingonberries and lowbush blueberries)Footnote d
		0.5	Wild ricea
		0.3	Garden beet roots, sugar beet roots
		0.25	Carrot roots
		0.2	Bulb onion (Crop Subgroup 3-07A), bananas, field corna, peanuts, plantains, popcorn graina, sweet corn kernels plus cob with husks removeda
		0.1	Tree nuts (Crop Group 14-11)

Pesticide MRLs established in Canada may be accessed using the  Maximum Residue Limit Database, accessible via the Maximum Residue Limits for Pesticides webpage in the Pesticides and Pest Management section of Health Canada's website, and searchable by pesticide or commodity.

International Situation and Trade Implications

Table 2 compares the MRLs proposed for propiconazole in Canada with corresponding established American tolerances and Codex MRLs^{Footnote 2}. American tolerances are available in the  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR Part 180. A listing of Codex MRLs is available on the Codex Alimentarius  Pesticide Residues in Food webpage, by pesticide or commodity.

Note that the tolerance for tree nuts established in the United States includes Crop Group 14 and pistachios, which represent a subset of the Crop Group 14-11 commodities for which MRLs are proposed in Canada in accordance with Update on the Status of the Revisions to the Residue Chemistry Crop Groups (DIR2011-02).

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

Food Commodity	Canadian MRL (ppm)	American Tolerance (ppm)	Codex MRL (ppm)
Dried parsley leaves	35	35	Not Established
Rice bran	15	15	Not Established
Fresh parsley leaves, fresh coriander leaves	13	13 (Cilantro, leaves)	Not Established
Peppermint tops, spearmint tops	10	10	Not Established
Green onion (Crop Subgroup 3-07B)	9.0	9.0	Not Established
Rice	7.0	7.0	Not Established
Garden beet tops	5.5	5.5	Not Established
Leaf petioles (Crop Subgroup 4B)	5.0	5.0	Not Established
Pineapples	4.5	4.5	0.02
Sorghum	3.5	3.5	Not Established
Sugar beet molasses	1.5	1.5	Not Established
Low-growing berry (Crop Subgroup 13-07G; except strawberries)	1.3	1.3 (except cranberry) 1.0 (Cranberry)	0.3 (Cranberry)
Caneberry (Crop Subgroup 13-07A)	1.0	1.0	Not Established
Bushberry (Crop Subgroup 13-07B; except lingonberries, lowbush blueberries)	1.0	1.0	Not Established
Wild rice	0.5	0.5	Not Established
Garden beet roots	0.3	0.3	Not Established
Sugar beet roots	0.3	0.3	0.02
Carrot roots	0.25	0.25	Not Established
Bulb onion (Crop Subgroup 3-07A	0.2	0.2	Not Established
Bananas, plantains	0.2	0.2	0.1 (Banana)
Field corn, popcorn grain	0.2	0.2	0.05
Sweet corn kernels plus cob with husks removed	0.2	0.1	0.05
Peanuts	0.2	0.2	Not Established
Tree nuts (Crop Group 14-11)	0.1	0.1 (Nut, tree, group 14 and pistachios)	0.02 (Pecan)

Next Steps

The PMRA invites the public to submit written comments on the proposed MRLs for propiconazole 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 MRLs. Comments received will be addressed in a separate document linked to this PMRL. The MRLs will take legal effect as of the date they are posted to the  Maximum Residue Limit Database in the Pesticides and Pest Management section of Health Canada's website.