. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/CAN/89
11 July 2000
(00-2827)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English/
French
NOTIFICATION
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  CANADA
If applicable, name of local government involved:           
2. Agency responsible:  Department of Health
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where
applicable): Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or
practicable:  Abamectin
4. Title and number of pages of the notified document:  Proposed Amendment to the Food
and Drug Regulations (1136 – Abamectin) (pages 2066-2069)
5. Description of content: Abamectin is registered under the Pest Control Products Act as an
insecticide for the control of mites on a variety of fruits, vegetables and other crops.
Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) have been established under the Food and Drugs Act for
residues of abamectin (including avermectin B 1a, avermectin B 1b and the 8,9-Z isomers),
resulting from this use at 0.05 parts per million (p.p.m.) in celery and head lettuce,
0.02 p.p.m. in apples, citrus fruits, pears and strawberries, 0.01 p.p.m. in peppers and
tomatoes and 0.005 p.p.m. in almonds and walnuts. By virtue of subsection B.15.002(1) of
the Food and Drug Regulation s, the MRL for other foods is 0.1 p.p.m.
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), of Health Canada, has recently
approved an application to amend the registration of abamectin in order to allow its use for
the control of two-spotted spider mites and th rips on cucumbers. This proposed regulatory
amendment would establish an MRL for residues of abamectin (including avermectin B 1a,
avermectin B 1b and the 8,9-Z isomers), resulting from this use in cucumbers, in order to
permit the sale of food containing these residues.
After the review of all available data, the PMRA has determined that an MRL for abamectin
(including avermectin B 1a, avermectin B 1b and the 8,9-Z isomers), of 0.005 p.p.m. in
cucumbers would not pose an unacceptable health risk to the public. This new MRL
harmonizes with that established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
At the same time it is proposed to change the common name in Column I of Table II of
Division 15 of the Food and Drug Regulations from abamectin (including avermectin B 1a
and the 8,9-Z isomers), to abamectin in order to harmonize with the residue definition used
by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and th e United States Environmental Protection
Agency. It is also proposed to change the chemical name to conform with the International
Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) standards.G/SPS/N/CAN/89
Page 2
6. Objective and rationale: [  X ] food safety,  [     ] animal health,  [     ] plant protection,
[    ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [     ] protect territory from
other damage from pests           
7. An international standard, guideline or recommendation does not exist [    ].
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:  Codex 0.05 ppm (cucumber), US EPA
0.005 ppm (cucurbits)
8. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  Canada Gazette,
Part 1, 1 July 2000 (Available in English and French)
9. Proposed date of adoption:  Not stated.
10. Proposed date of entry into force:  Not stated.
11. Final date for comments:  31 July 2000
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [     ] National notification
authority, [  X ] National enquiry point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if
available) of other body:           
12. Texts available from: [     ] National notification authority, [  X ] National enquiry point
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
Text is also available on the internet at:  http://canada.gc.ca/gazette/part1/pdf/1-13427.pdf