Setting of an import tolerance for fenazaquin in teas

Abstract

In accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, the applicant Gowan Crop Protection Limited submitted a request to the competent national authority in Germany to set an import tolerance for the active substance fenazaquin in teas imported from India. The results of the four new residue trials submitted in support of the request, together with those previously assessed during the maximum residue level (MRL) review for the same import tolerance, on the basis of which a tentative MRL of 9 mg/kg was set, are sufficient to derive an MRL for teas at the same level. The enforcement analytical method and its independent laboratory validation (ILV) submitted were found to be adequate to control fenazaquin residues in the commodity under consideration at the validated limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.01 mg/kg. Based on the risk assessment results, EFSA concluded that the short-term and long-term intake of residues of fenazaquin and its toxicologically relevant plant metabolite 2-(4-tert-butylphenyl) ethanol (TBPE) resulting from the use of fenazaquin on teas imported from India according to the reported agricultural practice is unlikely to present a risk to consumer health. The consumer risk assessment for TBPE is indicative only, due to uncertainties related to missing residue data for this metabolite in commodities covered by EU-implemented Codex maximum residue limit (CXLs). Risk managers may consider either confirming the existing MRL of 9 mg/kg or lowering the value to 3 mg/kg, in line with the MRL currently in force in the country of origin.