Technical Regulation on Maximum Residue Limits of Pesticides in Vegetables (Reglamento Técnico de Límites Máximos de Residuos de Plaguicidas en Vegetales).
1. Objective and scope of application. This technical regulation regulates matters relating to the maximum residue limits (MRLs) of pesticides and their metabolites, which are permitted in different vegetable crops, for human and animal consumption, at the national level.
2. References.
- CODEX ALIMENTARIUS Standard Residues of pesticides in food; http://www.codexalimentarius.net/mrls/pestdes/jsp/pest_q-s.jsp. of April 9, 2008. Consulted August 11, 2008.
- EPA MRL Standard; http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/food/viewtols.htm. 2005 CFR-Title 20 volume 23. Consulted August 11, 2008.
- Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council, of February 23, 2005, relating to maximum residue limits of pesticides in food and feed of plant and animal origin of the EU, in force at the time of importation. http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/es/lvb/l21289.htm. Consulted August 11, 2008.
3. Definitions.
For the purposes of this technical regulation, the following shall be understood as:
3.1. Codex Alimentarius: The Codex Alimentarius is a collection of international food standards that have been adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). Codex provisions refer to the hygiene and nutritional quality of food, including microbiological standards, food additives, pesticide and veterinary drug residues, contaminants, labeling and presentation, and methods of sampling and risk analysis.
3.2. Active ingredient (Ingrediente activo): The component of a formulation responsible for the direct or indirect biological activity against pests and diseases, or for regulating plant metabolism/growth. A single formulated synthetic pesticide may be composed of one or more chemical or biological entities that may differ in relative activity. A formulation may contain one or more active ingredients.
3.3 Maximum residue limit (MRL) (Límite máximo para residuos, LMR): It is the maximum concentration of a pesticide residue (expressed in mg/kg) legally permitted on the surface or internal part of food products for human consumption and feed.
3.4 Pre-harvest interval (Período de Carencia): The legally established time, usually expressed in number of days, that must elapse between the last application of a pesticide and the harvest or grazing of animals. In the case of post-harvest applications, it refers to the interval between the last application and the consumption of the vegetable product.
3.5 Pesticide (Plaguicida): Any substance or mixture of substances intended to prevent, destroy, or control any pest, including vectors of human or animal diseases, undesirable species of plants or animals that cause harm or otherwise interfere with the production, processing, storage, transport, or marketing of food, agricultural commodities, wood and wood products, or animal feed, or which may be administered to animals to combat insects, arachnids, or other pests on or in their bodies. The term includes substances intended for use as plant growth regulators, defoliants, desiccants, fruit thinning agents, or agents to prevent premature fruit drop, and substances applied to crops before or after harvest to protect the commodity against deterioration during storage and transport.
3.6 Pesticide residue (Residuo de plaguicida): Any specified substance present in food for human consumption, agricultural commodities, or animal feed as a consequence of the application of a pesticide. The term includes any derivative of a pesticide such as conversion products, metabolites, and reaction products, and impurities considered of toxicological importance.
4. Abbreviations.
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following shall be understood as:
4.1 EPA: Environmental Protection Agency (for its acronym in English), the environmental protection agency of the United States of North America.
4.2 EEUU: United States of North America.
4.3 FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (for its acronym in English).
4.4 MRLs (LMR): Maximum Residue Limits (Límites Máximos de Residuos).
4.5 MAG: Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería).
4.6 MEIC: Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio).
4.7 MS: Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud).
4.8 SFE: State Phytosanitary Service (Servicio Fitosanitario del Estado).
4.9. EU (UE): European Union.
5. Specifications.
5.1. Maximum Residue Limits to apply in the first instance. The MRLs established by the Codex Alimentarius are hereby adopted as official, which shall be applied in the first instance.
5.2. Maximum Residue Limits to apply in the second instance. In cases where no MRLs established by the Codex Alimentarius exist, the MRLs established by the EPA and the EU shall apply. When the MRLs established by the EPA and the EU are different, the one with the highest nominal value shall be adopted, all in accordance with Article 5 subsections 1, 3, and 4 of the World Trade Organization Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the MRLs of other countries may be adopted as official once the SFE Registration Unit verifies that the procedure for establishing them is similar to those used by the Codex Alimentarius. These MRLs shall be defined by administrative resolution, issued by the Directorate of the SFE, which shall be published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta and placed on the SFE's Web page.
5.3 Change of pre-harvest intervals (períodos de carencia): If as a consequence of this decree, and each time modifications of such limits are presented by the reference entities, the MRLs change and this in turn modifies the pre-harvest interval (periodo de carencia) or some other agricultural practice, every registrant is obligated to declare said changes in the SFE Registry; these changes must be reflected in the pamphlet.
5.4 Procedure and requirements for changing the pre-harvest intervals (períodos de carencia). To change the pre-harvest intervals (períodos de carencia) of those registered products whose maximum residue limits (MRLs) have been modified within the scope of this Decree, the registrant must submit to the SFE the petition together with the technical information, resulting from field trial data that supports it and endorsed by a professional whose suitability is recognized and granted by the College of Agronomic Engineers (Colegio de Ingenieros Agrónomos), in addition to the label and pamphlet projects that support the change.
5.5 Publication of the list of maximum residue limits (MRLs). The MAG, through the State Phytosanitary Service (Servicio Fitosanitario del Estado), shall make available and known to the administered parties the list of permitted maximum residue limits (MRLs) via its Web page, which shall be updated annually, without prejudice that the SFE may make specific updates at any time, approved by the reference entities (CODEX, EPA, and EU) or that have been authorized by the SFE in accordance with the preceding subsections 5.1 and 5.2.
6. Surveillance and verification.
This shall be carried out as established in the following decrees:
6.1. Decreto Ejecutivo Nº 27683 MAG-MEIC-S, called "Laboratorio para el análisis de residuos de sustancias químicas y biológicas de uso en la agricultura para consumo humano y animal", published on May 19, 1998.
6.2. Decreto Ejecutivo Nº 27056 MAG-MEIC, called "Toma de muestras para análisis de residuos de sustancias químicas y afines de uso agrícola en los cultivos de vegetales", published on January 5, 1998.
7. Bibliography:
- Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures ("SPS Agreement") of the WTO, entered into force on January 1, 1995. General Phytosanitary Protection Law, N° 7674, published on April 8, 1997.
- Regulation Nº 33495-MAG-S-MINAE-MEIC, on Registration, Use, and Control of Formulated Synthetic Pesticides, Technical Grade Active Ingredient (Ingrediente Activo Grado Técnico), Adjuvants, and Related Substances for Agricultural Use, published January 10, 2007.
- CODEX ALIMENTARIUS Standard Residues of pesticides in food; http://www.codexalimentarius.net/mrls/pestdes/jsp/pest_q-s.jsp. of April 9, 2008. Consulted August 11, 2008.
- EPA MRL Standard; http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/food/viewtols.htm. 2005 CFR-Title 20 volume 23. Consulted August 11, 2008.
- Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council, of February 23, 2005, relating to maximum residue limits of pesticides in food and feed of plant and animal origin of the EU, in force at the time of importation. http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/es/lvb/l21289.htm. Consulted August 11, 2008.
- www.codexalimentarius.net/ Consulted August 11, 2008.