Good agricultural practices

These annexes set out the requirements for the dossier to be submitted by applicants either for inclusion of an a.i. in Annex I or for authorization of a plant protection product. Active ingredients are listed in Annex I if their use and their residues, resulting from applications consistent with good plant protection practice [or Good Agricultural Practice (GAP)] do not have harmful effects on human and animal health, or on ground water or any unacceptable influence on the environment (Article 5 of the Directive). 

However, there is no general requirement that enforcement methods need to monitor all metabolites of an active ingredient. The primary purpose of enforcement methods is to detect violations of good agricultural practice. For this purpose, residue levels found in samples from the market (so-called Market Basket Surveys) have to be compared with MRLs, which are derived from residue concentrations found in supervised trials. It is not necessary for this comparison to be based on the total pesticide residue. Most often the choice of a single compound (e.g., parent or primary metabolite) as a marker of the total pesticide residue is more feasible. Method development and the later method application are much easier in that case. Only for intake calculation purposes, e.g., when the daily intake of pesticide residues (calculated from the results... 

Dinitroaniline herbicides show minimal plant systematic translocation properties with the majority of the absorbed residues in the root tissues. Metabolites identified include traces of Al-dealkylation, alkyl and aryl hydroxylation and nitro reduction products. Low levels of dinitroaniline herbicide residues have been reported in raw agricultural commodities according to Good Agricultural Practice. 

Diphenyl ethers in the soil are absorbed by roots with limited translocation generally to the foliage. Low levels of herbicide residues can be expected when the compound is used in accordance with good agricultural practice. The parent diphenyl ether compound is defined as the residue of analytical and regulatory concern. 

Plot maintenance B Expertise must be available to maintain the test site and, if cropped, to take care of the crop For bare-soil studies, the soil surface must be carefully prepared prior to test substance application and kept weed-free without disturbing the test areas. If the test is cropped, the crop should be treated according to Good Agricultural Practice. In case of a soil accumulation study, the field may be cultivated and cropped each season for up to 6 years... 

Good Automated Manufacturing Practice Good Agricultural Practice Good Clinical Practice... 

Stier R.F. and Nagle N.E. (2003) Ensuring safety in juices and juice products good agricultural practices, in Beverage Quality and Safety (eds T. Foster and RC. Vasavada), CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 1-7. 

Data from the PRC show that approximately 30% of food consumed in the UK contains measurable residues of pesticides (Table 10.5) and that approximately 1% contains residues above the MRL based on the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP)-compliant use of pesticides. 

In addition to the need for scientific improvements to allow probabilistic risk assessments to be properly performed and interpreted, there also exists a need to educate stakeholders about what the US system for tolerance establishment and monitoring does and does not do. In simplest terms, the US system can be described as a food quality system but not necessarily a food safety system. This results from the fact that the pesticide tolerances are not safety standards but rather exist as enforcement tools that allow an assessment of how well pesticide application regulations are adhered to. Violative residues demonstrate the likelihood of pesticide misuse but should not be considered, in the vast majority of cases, to represent unsafe residues. Safety considerations govern whether or not the use of pesticides on specified commodities will be permitted tolerances, when granted, serve as indicators of good agricultural practices rather than as toxicological benchmarks. 

MAFF (1998). Code of Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Soil. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, London. 

Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices Identification,... 

Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), food tolerance restrictions are not required for benzene when it is used in accordance with good agricultural practices as an inert (or occasionally active) ingredient i formulations applied to growing crops only (EPA 1985h). 

MRL values are set according to good agricultural practices which differ in different countries as the type and incidence of pests and diseases are different and so are the treatment regimes. The MRL serves as a good guidepost for assessing the extent of pesticide contamination in food. It is also used to facilitate the movement of commodities in international trade. 

Principles for Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) should be developed which specifically aim at reducing the dependency of agriculture on plant protection chemicals. This may be facilitated by establishing an EU-supported GAP research facility . Least-harmful plant protection practices should be developed and promoted wherever feasible and practicable. 

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