Health Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada
Consumer Product Safety

Proposed Maximum Residue Limit PMRL2013-47, Thiabendazole

Pest Management Regulatory Agency
11 July 2013
ISSN: 1925-0843 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-24/2013-47E-PDF (PDF version)

Help on accessing alternative formats, such as Portable Document Format (PDF), Microsoft Word and PowerPoint (PPT) files, can be obtained in the alternate format help section.

Under the authority of the Next link will take you to another Web site Pest Control Products Act, Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has granted full registration to a new end-use product, containing technical grade thiabendazole, fludioxonil and metalaxyl-M, for the control of certain seed-borne and soil-borne diseases of dry beans (including lupins and dry faba beans), dry peas, chickpeas and lentils. The specific uses approved in Canada are detailed on the product label of Apron Advance Seed Treatment, Pest Control Products Act Registration Number 30627.

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 registration 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 limits (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 thiabendazole is being conducted via this document (see Next Steps). Existing MRLs for fludioxonil and metalaxyl-M are adequate to cover all uses of Apron Advance Seed Treatment.

To comply with Canada's international trade obligations, consultation on the proposed MRLs for thiabendazole is also being conducted internationally by notifying the Next link will take you to another Web site World Trade Organization, as coordinated by the Next link will take you to another Web site Standards Council of Canada.

The proposed MRLs in Canada in or on food, to be added to the MRLs already legally established for thiabendazole, are as follows.

Table 1 - Proposed Maximum Residue Limits for Thiabendazole
Common Name Residue Definition MRL (ppmTable 1 footnote 1) Food Commodity

Table 1 footnotes

Table 1 footnote 1

ppm = parts per million

Return to table 1 footnote 1 referrer

Thiabendazole 2-(4-thiazolyl)benzimidazole 0.01 Dried shelled pea and bean, except soybean (Crop Subgroup 6C)

MRLs are proposed for each commodity included in Crop Subgroup 6C 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 thiabendazole in Canada with corresponding American tolerances and Codex MRLs.Footnote 2 American tolerances are listed inthe Next link will take you to another Web site Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR Part 180, by pesticide. A listing of established Codex MRLs is available on the Codex Alimentarius Next link will take you to another Web site Pesticide Residues in Food website, by pesticide or commodity. There are no MRLs established at this time for thiabendazole in/on any crop in Crop Subgroup 6C.

Table 2 - Comparison of Canadian MRLs, American Tolerances and Codex MRLs (Where Different)
Food Commodity Canadian MRL
(ppm)
American Tolerance
(ppm)
Dried shelled pea and bean, except soybean (Crop Subgroup 6C) 0.01 0.1
(Bean, dry seed)

Next Steps

The PMRA invites the public to submit written comments on the proposed MRLs for thiabendazole 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 proposed MRL. The established MRLs will be legally in effect as of the date that they are entered into the Maximum Residue Limit Database.

Footnotes

Footnote 1

The relevant report can be accessed by selecting Applications/New/Historical and requesting the Evaluation Report found under Application Number 2010-4627.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

The Codex Alimentarius Commission is an international organization under the auspices of the United Nations that develops international food standards, including MRLs.

Return to footnote 2 referrer