. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/USA/1956 
7 October 2009  
 (09-4796) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
1. Notifying Member:  UNITED STATES
 
If applicable, name of local government involved:    
2. Agency responsible:  US Environmental Protection Agency 
3. Products covered (provide tariff item numbe r(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO;  ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  Almond, hulls at; nut, tree, group 14; pistachio; date; and pomegranate 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable: 
[X] All trading partners [ ] Specific regions or countries:    
5. Title of the notified document:  Spinosad; Pesticide Tolerances  Language:  English  
Number of pages:  7   
6. Description of content:  This final rule establishes tole rances for residues of spinosad, 
consisting of two related active ingredients:  Spinosyn A (Factor A; CAS#131929-60-7) or 
2-[(6-deoxy-2,3,4-tri-O-methyl-[alpha]-L-  manno-pyranosyl)oxy]-13-[[5-(dimethylamino)-
tetrahydro-6-methyl-2H- pyran-2-yl]oxy]-9-et hyl-2,3,3a,5a,5b,6,9,10,11,12,13,14,16a,16b- 
tetradecahydro-14-methyl-1H-as-Indaceno[ 3,2-d]oxacyclododecin-7,15- dione; and 
Spinosyn D (Factor D; CAS#131929-63-0) or 2-[(6- deoxy-2,3,4-tri-O-methyl-[alpha]-L-manno-pyranosyl)oxy]-13-[[5- (dimethyl-amino)-tetrahydro-6-methyl-2H-pyran-2-yl]oxy]-
9-ethyl- 2,3,3a,5a,5b,6,9,10,11,12,13,14, 16a,16b-tetradecahydro-4,14-methyl-1H- as-
Indaceno[3,2-d]oxacyclododecin-7,15-dione, in or on almond, hulls at 19 ppm; nut, tree, group 14 at 0.10 ppm; pistachio at 0.10 ppm; date at 0.10 ppm; and pomegranate at 0.30 ppm. 
7. 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.    
8. Is there a relevant international stan dard?  If so, identify the standard:  
[X] Codex Alimentarius Commission (e.g.  title or serial number of Codex standard 
or related text)   
[ ] World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) (e.g. Terrestrial or Aquatic 
Animal Health Code, chapter number)    
[ ] International Plant Protection Convention (e.g. ISPM number)    G/SPS/N/USA/1956 
Page 2  
 
  [ ] None 
Does this proposed regulation conform to the relevant international standard?   
 [ ] Yes   [X] No 
 If no, describe, whenever possible, how and why it deviates from the 
international standard:  Codex MRLs exist for spinosad on almond hull (2 ppm) and 
almond nutmeat (0.01 ppm).  These MRLs are based on field trial data which employed a 
14-day pre-harvest interval (PHI), while the US almond hull (19 ppm) and tree nut (0.10 ppm) tolerances are based on a 1-day PHI.  Since the US and Codex tolerances are based on different application scenarios and since the US tolerances are significantly greater (10x) than those currently established by Codex, harmonization is not possible. 
9. Other relevant documents and language (s) in which these are available:  This final rule 
is available at [Federal Register:  23 Se ptember 2009 (Volume 74, Number 183)][Rules and 
Regulations] [Page 48402-48408] or on-line at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-
PEST/2009/September/ Day-23/p22534.htm .  This final rule was published subsequent to a 
notice in the  [Federal Register:  3 Dece mber 2008 (Volume 73, Number 233)] [Notices] 
[Page 73648-73652] http://www.epa.gov/EPA-PEST/2008/December/Day-03/p28668.htm   
10. Proposed date of adoption (dd/mm/yy) :  23 September 2009   
Proposed date of publication (dd/mm/yy) :  23 September 2009   
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  [ ] Six months from date of publication , and/or  
(dd/mm/yy) :  23 September 2009   
[ ] Trade facilitating measure 
12. Final date for comments:  [ ] Sixty days from the date of circulation of the notification 
and/or (dd/mm/yy) :  23 November 2009 
Agency or authority designated to handl e comments:  [ ] National Notification 
Authority, [X] National Enquiry Point.  Address, fax number and e-mail address (if 
available) of other body:  Laura Nollen, Registration Division (7505P), Office of Pesticide 
Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: ( 703) 305-7390; e-mail address:  
nollen.laura@epa.gov. Please refere nce docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0810 
13. Texts available from:  [X] National Notification Authority, [ ] National Enquiry Point.  
Address, fax number and e-mail address (if available) of other body:   United States 
SPS National Notification Authority, USDA Fore ign Agricultural Service, International 
Regulations and Standards Division (IRSD), Stop 1027, Washington D.C. 20250;  Tel:  +(1 202) 720 1301;  Fax:  +(1 202) 720 0433;  E-mail:  us.s psenquirypoint@fas.usda.gov