The European Commission has set a temporary MRL for chlorpropham at 0.4 ppm. This will apply to consumption potatoes starting from those harvested in 2021.

This is good news for potato growers. This milestone was reached thanks to good lobbying from the sector. This MRL gives us confidence and makes it possible for us to store our potatoes in a proper way, now and in the future. And last but not least, this gives growers enough time to thoroughly clean their storage areas.

The decision to set a temporary MRL of 0.4 ppm was taken by the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (ScoPaff) of the European Commission. The current MRL for chlorpropham of 10 ppm will probably still apply until the summer of 2021, according to BO Akkerbouw.

Intensive cleaning

Starting next year, it is obliged to intensively monitor the levels of chlorpropham that may still be present in the storage areas and on the potatoes of the new harvet. It is extremely important that growers no longer use chlorine IPC or similar products, even if they still have some remnants of the product.

The use of forbidden substances in the production chain can be detected fairly quickly. As of this season, potato growers in the European Union are no longer allowed to use chlorpropham-based products to prevent germination.

Temporary MRL for up to ten years

As of autumn 2021, the tMRL will be provisionally valid for a period of two years. After that, the European Commission can extend the temporary limit in the residue level up to four times for a maximum of ten years. The threshold is bound to be reduced even further next year. Eventually, this residue limit for chlorpropham will drop to 0.01 ppm.