To Establish Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for Specified Agricultural Compounds in Food

To Establish Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for Specified Agricultural Compounds in Food
Date of publication: December 1999

Submissions have Closed

Dear Colleague

Public Consultation on the Draft Discussion Document: To Establish Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for Specified Agricultural Compounds in Food.

The following discussion document proposes to amend the New Zealand (Maximum Residue Limits of Agricultural Compounds) Mandatory Food Standard 1999 (“the NZ Standard”). The aim of the document is to seek public comment on the following two proposals:

Proposal One
Proposal one concerns agricultural compounds, which are used in the production of foods grown for the New Zealand domestic market. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Group (ACVMG) has requested that the Ministry of Health establish MRLs for six agricultural compounds in the NZ Standard. The ACVMG’s request follows its assessment of the manufacturers’ applications for registration. In summary, the changes proposed are:

the addition of new maximum residue limits for:
Florfenicol
Nicarbazin

the amendment of existing maximum residue limits for:
Metalaxyl
Methomyl
Tebufenozide
Toltrazuril.

The inclusion of the MRLs detailed above will help regulate the use of these agricultural compounds and ensure good agricultural or veterinary practice in New Zealand.

Assessment of Proposal One
All the above MRLs have undergone toxicological assessment by the ACVMG. The ACVMG is responsible for providing technical support to the combined Animal Remedies and Pesticides Residue Board. In addition to the assessment carried out by ACVMG, the compounds have been assessed by the Ministry of Health, which has used internationally accepted risk procedures and criteria to assess the implications to public health and safety.

Proposal Two
The Ministry of Health is also proposing to establish an MRL for the fumigant ethylene oxide (ETO), which is used primarily on imported spices. The Ministry contracted the Institute of Environmental and Scientific Research to undertake an assessment of toxicological risks associated with ETO fumigation of spices. This assessment provided a scientific basis for the Ministry’s proposal to establish an MRL for ETO in the NZ Standard.

Preconditions for amending the NZ Standard
The discussion document outlines the consequences of amending the NZ Standard to include the above agricultural compounds. This includes ensuring that consideration is given to the preconditions under the Food Act 1981 for issuing a food standard, which are:

the need to protect public health
avoiding unnecessary restrictions to trade
maintaining consistency between New Zealand food standards and those applying internationally
the need to meet New Zealand’s international obligations.

Applicability to the Joint Food Standard Setting System between Australia and New Zealand
The Australia New Zealand Food Authority has responsibility for developing food standards within the scope of the joint food standard setting system. However, MRLs for agricultural compounds are not included under the joint system. The proposed changes relate only to the NZ Standard.

Please note the closing date for receipt of the submissions to this document is 18 February 1999.

Yours sincerely

Gail Powell
Group Director
Regulation Development Group

Document availability

This publication is not available in hard copy. It is only available on this website in PDF format below.

(PDF,157 kB)

This publication has been converted to Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF). Here is a link to information on downloading and viewing PDFs.