The EU officially decided that S-metolachlor is officially banned!

On January 3, 2024, the European Commission (EC) issued a formal decision: based on the EU Plant Protection Products PPP (REGULATION (EC) No 1107/2009), the active substance S-metolachlor is no longer approved for the EU register of plant protection products. The draft resolution was issued by the EU to the WTO in May 2023, and this formal resolution is largely in line with the previous draft.

Material background 

S-metolachlor is a Chloroacetamide herbicide developed by Novartis (now Syngenta) that works by inhibiting cell growth by blocking the synthesis of ultra-long chain fatty acids. S-metolachlor has a wide crop spectrum and is the main herbicide for corn and soybean fields, which are important food crops in the world.

As of the beginning of January 2024, there are a total of 24 technical registrations and 62 formulation registrations in China, and formulation products are mainly used to control annual weeds. At present, S-metolachlor has been registered in the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries and regions.

Eu review 

In 2005, S-metolachlor was first approved by the European Union under the old Regulation on Plant Protection Products (Directive 91/414/EEC). After being included in the EU List of Approved Active Substances for Plant Protection Products (COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 540/2011) the approval is valid until 31 July 2014. Due to the delay in the completion of the re-evaluation, the approval period for S-metolachlor has been repeatedly extended, most recently to November 15, 2024.

Back in February 2023, the European Food Safety Authority informed the European Commission of the results of its latest review on S-metolachlor, which mainly included the following risk points: 

1. According to the monitoring data, the content of S-metolachlor and its related active metabolites in groundwater exceeded the limit value of 0.1 μg/L, including metabolites that are highly suspected of genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. 

2. There is a high risk of secondary toxicity for mammals that feed on earthworms.

The European Commission invited applicants to submit comments on the findings of the review, but it did not dispel the EU's concern about the risk points of S-metolachlor. In this process, the French Food, Environment and Occupational Health and Safety Agency (Anses) responded in February this year, the first in France to ban the main use of the herbicide, and the formal decision of the European Commission means that the EU level finally decided that S-metolachlor does not meet the approval criteria of the EU PPP Regulation for plant protection products. It was decided not to approve the active substance.