Proposed Maximum Residue Limit PMRL2013-24, Metconazole

Pest Management Regulatory Agency
23 April 2013
ISSN: 1925-0843 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2013-24E-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 registered the new end-use products Metconazole 50 WDG Fungicide and Quash Fungicide, containing technical grade metconazole, for use in Canada on bushberries (Crop Group 13-07B), canola, chickpeas, dry beans, field peas, lentils and potatoes. The specific uses approved in Canada are detailed on the labels of Metconazole 50 WDG Fungicide and Quash Fungicide, Pest Control Products Act Registration Numbers 30401 and 30402, respectively.

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 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 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 MRLs for metconazole 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 be added to the MRLs already legally established for metconazole, are as follows.

Table 1 - Proposed Maximum Residue Limits for Metconazole

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
Metconazole	5-[(4-chlorophenyl)methyl]-2,2-dimethyl-1-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl) cyclopentanol	0.4	Bushberry (Crop Subgroup 13-07B)
		0.15	Dried shelled pea and bean, except soybean (Crop Subgroup 6C)
		0.08	Rapeseed (Crop Subgroup 20A)
		0.04	Tuberous and corm vegetables (Crop Subgroup 1C); fat, meat and meat byproducts of poultry

MRLs are proposed for each commodity included in the fruiting vegetables crop group in accordance with the Residue Chemistry Crop Groups webpage in the Pesticides and Pest Management section of Health Canada's website.

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, including differences in pesticide use patterns and the locations of the field crop trials used to generate residue chemistry data. Table 2 compares the MRLs proposed for metconazole in Canada with established American tolerances, as listed in the  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR Part 180. Currently, there are no Codex MRLs^{Footnote 2} listed for metconazole in or on any commodity on the Codex Alimentarius  Pesticide Residues in Food website.

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

Food Commodity	Canadian MRL (ppm)	American Tolerance (ppm)
Bushberry (Crop Subgroup 13-07B)	0.4	0.4
Dried shelled pea and bean, except soybean (Crop Subgroup 6C)	1.5	Not Established
Rapeseed (Crop Subgroup 20A)	0.08	0.04 (Canola seed only)
Tuberous and corm vegetables (Crop Subgroup 1C)	0.04	0.04
Fat, meat and meat byproducts of poultry	0.04	Not Established

Next Steps

The PMRA invites the public to submit written comments on the proposed MRLs for metconazole 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.