The Draft provides that the approval of the active substances chlorpyrifos-methyl is not renewed (it will expire on January 31, 2020) and, therefore, existing authorized plant protection products containing this substance will be withdrawn from the market. The non-renewal of the approval is based on a scientific assessment conducted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (see previous post).
This decision does not affect the Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) for residues of the concerned pesticide. However, following non-approval, separate actions may be taken on MRLs. Currently, the MRLs for chlorpyrifos-methyl in tree nuts, cranberries, dates and figs is already 0.01* ppm; in apricots and plums is 0.5 ppm; in grapes is 1.0 ppm; and in peanuts is 0.05 ppm.
The deadline for comments is December 2, 2019.
For further information, please contact us at inc@nutfruit.org.