Eu review of existing maximum residue levels for dithiocarbamate

On 17 March 2023, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued an opinion on the review of the available maximum residue levels for dithiocarbamates.

Maximum residue limits for dithiocarbamates have been reviewed by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in accordance with Chapter 12 of Commission Regulation 396/2005. Based on an assessment of the available data, MRL proposals were developed and a consumer risk assessment was conducted. Some information required by the regulatory framework was missing and found to pose a possible chronic/acute risk to consumers. Therefore, the consumer risk assessment is only considered indicative, some MRL recommendations made by EFSA still require further consideration by risk managers, and measures to reduce consumer risk should also be considered. Some of the original reports are as follows:

According to Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, EFSA has reviewed the maximum residue levels (MRLs) currently established at European level for the group of pesticide active substances dithiocarbamates. To assess the occurrence of metiram, ziram, maneb and mancozeb residues in plants, processed commodities, rotational crops and livestock, EFSA considered the conclusions derived in the framework of Regulation (EU) No 1107/2009, the MRLs established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (codex maximum residue limits; CXLs) as well as the European authorisations and the import tolerances reported by Member States and the UK (including the supporting residues data) for metiram and mancozeb. Propineb and thiram were not considered further in this assessment since it is expected that all uses for these compounds, including import tolerances, have been withdrawn after the lowering of all the MRLs to the limit of quantification (LOQ) following the EFSA MRLs reviews completed, respectively, in 2020 and 2021. When reviewing the MRLs for the common residue definition (determined and expressed as CS2), EFSA was requested to consider also the monitoring data from organic samples collected and made available by the EURLs, reflecting the sulfur naturally occurring in crops and not related to the uses of the dithiocarbamates. based on the assessment of the available data, MRL proposals were derived, and a consumer risk assessment was carried out. Some information required by the regulatory framework was missing and a possible chronic/acute risk to consumers was identified. Hence, the consumer risk assessment is considered indicative only, all MRL proposals derived by EFSA still require further consideration by risk managers and measures for reduction of the consumer exposure should also be considered.