. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/USA/1482/Add.2 
18 April 2007 
 
 (07-1610) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
Addendum
 
  
 The following communication, received on 13 April 2007, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of the United States.  
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Pesticides; Food Packaging Treated with a Pesticide
 
 
 This proposed rule would exempt from the defi nitions of "pesticide chemical'' and "pesticide 
chemical residue'' food packaging (e.g. paper and pa perboard, coatings, adhesives, and polymers) that 
is treated with a pesticide.  As a result, such i ngredients in food packaging treated with a pesticide 
would be exempt from regulation under federal law as pesticide chemical residues.  Further, a food 
that bears or contains such ingredients would not be subject to enforcement by the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA) since the ingredients would no longer be pesticide chemical residues.  Instead, 
such ingredients would be subject to regulati on by the FDA as food additives.  FDA generally 
regulates such food additives in food packaging as f ood contact substances.  This proposed rule would 
expand the scope of the provision which currently a pplies only to food packaging impregnated with 
an insect repellent - one type of pesticide.  This proposed rule, as with the rule it would amend, only 
applies to the food packaging materials themselv es; it would not otherwise limit EPA's jurisdiction 
over pesticides or limit FDA's jurisdiction over substances subject to FDA regulation as food 
additives. EPA, in consultation with FDA, and FDA believe this rule would eliminate the duplicative 
jurisdiction and economize federal government res ources while continuing to protect human health 
and the environment.  Even after this rule is fi nalized, as per federal law, EPA would continue to 
regulate the food packaging as an inert ingredient of the pesticide product and regulate the pesticide 
active ingredient in the treated food packaging.  The te xt of this proposed rule is identical to a direct 
final rule EPA issued on 6 December 2006.  EPA  received several comments opposing that direct 
final rule and therefore withdrew the rule on 25 Ja nuary 2007, consistent with EPA policy. EPA is 
now issuing the rule as a proposal for public comment. 
  Comments must be received on or before 23 April 2007, and may be identified by docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-0175.  This notice can be  found at Federal Register:  6 April 2007 
(Volume 72, Number 66) Proposed Rules Page 17068-17071;  
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-PEST/2007/April/Day-06/p6349.htm. 
  G/SPS/N/USA/1482/Add.2 
Page 2  
 
   This action is subsequent to a notification f iled in the Federal Register of 6 December 2006 
(71 FR 70667) in which EPA published notification of  a proposed rule identical to the one above.  
There were several comments on this proposed rule.  This notice can be found at Federal Register:  
6 December 2006 (Volume 71, Number 234) Rules and Regulations Pages 70667-70670; 
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-PEST/2006/December/Day-06/p20270.htm . 
 
United States SPS National Notification Authority, US DA Foreign Agricultural Service, International 
Regulations and Standards Division (IRSD), Stop 10 27, Washington D.C. 20250. Tel: 202-720-1301; 
Fax 202-690-0677; Email: fstsd@fas.usda.gov.  
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