Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (34th Session)

The Committee recommended to the Commission:

• Draft and draft revised MRLs for adoption at Step 8 and Proposed Draft MRLs at Step 5/8;
• Adoption of the Amendments to the Introductory Section of the Recommended Methods of Analysis for Pesticide Residues at Step 5/8 omiting Steps 6 and 7;
• Revocation of certain existing Codex MRLs; and
• Priority List of Pesticides for new pesticides and periodic evaluations by the JMPR.
• To reinstall at their former status at Step 8 the MRLs for Malathion (049) for peach, raspberries (red and black), and root and tuber vegetables which, due to an error in Appendix VI to ALINORM 01/24A, para 101, were revoked by the 24th Session of the CAC.

For information to the Commission

The Committee:

• Generally agreed with the views and recommendations under the General Considerations of the 2001 JMPR;
• Agreed to postpone more detailed consideration on probabilistic risk assessment and cumulative risk assessment pending an outcome of the FAO/WHO consultation on these issues when there was a better understanding of linkages between a probabilistic approach and cumulative risk assessment;
• Agreed to prepare a document outlining the risk analysis policies used in establishing Codex Maximum Residue Limits for Pesticides for the development of own specific guidelines for risk analysis for incorporation into the Procedural Manual;
• Accepted, in principle, the elaboration of MRLs of spices based on monitoring data provided by the spice producing country, and agreed that criteria for the development and use of such data needed to be elaborated further;
• Generally agreed that steps must be taken to reduce the timeframe for the consideration and adoption of MRLs for new compounds in order to reduce such trade vulnerabilities;
• Confirmed that the JMPR was essential to the continued independent international evaluation of pesticide residues while noting, however that because of the increasing demands on the process and the additional complexity of evaluations, the process had become unsustainable and without additional resources the system would fail sooner, rather than later, therefore welcomed the initiative of FAO and WHO to review the process and the depth and breadth of the working procedure of the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues;
• Agreed to consider further to what extent the Codex Classification of Foods and Animal Feeds should be updated and what could be practical implications of the revision on the current status of Maximum Residue Limits at the next session of the Committee;
• While considering establishment of MRLs for captan, requested the JMPR to review data for
• extrapolation of MRLs from peach to nectarines in 2002.
• Decided to refer the paper on probabilistic approach to JMPR for their information and requested JMPR to provide preliminary comments on the applicability of this a tiered probabilistic approach at the international level;
• Requested JMPR to develop guidance for the submission of monitoring data for MRL-setting.
• Removed from the tentative schedule of priorities oxytetracycline and gentamicin pending further consideration by FAO and WHO on the use of antibiotics in agriculture and their potential impact on human health.

Matter of interest to other Committees

The Committee:

• Further following the request of the CCNFSDU, noted that the phrase "these limits" in the wording proposed by the CCNFSDU was not technically correct and did not fit into the context of provisions already endorsed, therefore agreed to replace this phrase by "these measures" and restated that its conclusions reached at the 32nd Session that the current system of establishing MRLs on raw commodities should be protective for all subgroups of the population including infants and young children. The Committee also noted that the 2002 JMPR intended to consider increased vulnerability of infants and children, and agreed that any change that would result from this consideration would be taken into account, as appropriate.