BEIJING—The Sixth Plenary Session of the 1st National Review Committee on Pesticide Residue MRLs (NRCPRM) was held in Beijing from 18th to 19th June, 2012.
The Session was co-chaired by Academician Chen Zongmao, Vice Chariman of NRCPRM and the ex-Director General of Tea Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Mr. Qiao Xiongwu, Vice President of Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences. 34 individual members and 6 institute members attended the Session.
Committee members discussed six items at the Session, including the release approach of
Pesticide Residue MRLS in Food, the conversion and application of CODEX standards, the amendment of MRLs in food of pesticides prohibited or restricted in use, etc.
The Session reviewed and approved the Secretariat's suggestion on merging the
Pesticide Residue MRLs in Food and the review comments on WTO
technical trade measures. It was agreed that the MRLs released in the past two years and the old national MRLs reorganized would be incorporated into a new standard, i.e. National Food Safety Standard – Pesticide Residue MRLs in Food, to be released as GB2763-20XX. The Session approved the
Recommendations on Converting CODEX Pesticide MRLs into National MRLs and the
Recommendations on Setting MRLs for Pesticide Prohibited or Restricted in Use, and requested the Secretariat to revise and release the two documents based on the review comments.
After reviewing the Notes on Setting MRLs for Pesticide Residues in Processed Food and Notes on Setting MRLs for Paddy Rice, the Committee members agreed to apply certain suggestions on MRLs-setting for grossly-processed food, stressed the significance of setting MRLs for paddy rice, and agreed with the suggestion that it is acceptable to calculate the national MRLs in accordance with the brown rice rate based on relevant residue test data. The Session also reviewed the drafted Appendix A as an information note that proposed to add more target testing parts, and agreed that the Secretariat would submit an amended draft to the next Session after consulting with other departments and institutions.
In his speech, Sui Pengfei, Vice Chairman of NRCPRM and Director-General of
ICAMA, pointed out the high value attached by the leaders of MOA on the system building of pesticide residue MRLs and expressed his appreciation to NRCPRM's latest work. He hoped that the Committee members would be as committed as ever and devoted themselves to regulate the MRL review work, facilitate MRL setting and improve the MRL system so as to enhance China's confidence in international arena and support food security and food safety from the technical perspective.
The Session was also attended by Ye Jiming, Secretary General of NRCPRM and Deputy Director-General of ICAMA, Dong Hongyan, Deputy Secretary General of NRCPRM and Division Director of Department of Market and Economic Information of MOA, Li Wenxing, Division Director of Department of Crop Production of MOA and Shan Weili, Division Director of Residue Control Division of ICAMA.