PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN FOOD - 1979
Sponsored jointly by FAO and WHO
EVALUATIONS 1979
Joint meeting of the
FAO Panel of Experts on Pesticide Residues
in Food and the Environment
and the
WHO Expert Group on Pesticide Residues
Geneva, 3-12 December 1979
ACEPHATE
Explanation
This compound was evaluated in 1976. The 1979 CCPR asked the
Meeting to resolve whether or not the expression for acephate
residues should include methamidophos, itself an insecticide, which
occurs as a degradation product. Some changes in the recommended
MRLs were also proposed by some countries.
This monograph should be considered together with that for
methamidophos.
APPRAISAL
On re-examination of the data submitted to the 1976 Meeting, it was
found that the change in the MRL for lettuce from 10 mg/kg to 5
mg/kg and soybean from 1 to 0.5 mg/kg can be supported. No new
data were provided to support changes in the MRLs proposed for
Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower. Available data are
inadequate to support an extrapolation from the 3 days pre-harvest
interval (PHI) on which the existing MRLs are based to one of 14
days.
Methamidophos residues generally occur at about 10% of the acephate
residues on application of acephate. Available data indicate that
this presence would not cause existing MRLs for acephate to be
exceeded.
The meeting considered that the MRL would be for acephate and that
whatever methamidophos could be detected from the application of
acephate would be covered by MRLs for methamidophos.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The following amended maximum residue limits for acephate are
recommended.
Commodity Limit PHI
(mg/kg) (days)
Lettuce 5 14
Soybeans 0.5 14
FURTHER WORK OR INFORMATION
Desirable
Validation of methods of residue analysis for regulatory purposes.