BAKGRUNN (fra rådsforslaget)

Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 establishes, in accordance with the general principles laid down in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, in particular the need to ensure a high level of consumer protection and harmonised Union provisions relating to maximum levels (MRLs) of pesticide residues in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin. It recognises that, for food and feed produced outside the Union, different agricultural practices as regards the use of plant protection products may be legally applied, sometimes resulting in pesticide residues differing from those resulting from uses legally applied in the Union. Therefore, it provides for the possibility to apply for the setting of MRLs for imported products (i.e., import tolerances) by providing a comprehensive scientific dossier that take these uses and the resulting residues into account, which is evaluated by a Member State and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The Commission can set the MRL applied for, provided that safety for European Consumers has been demonstrated using the same criteria as for domestic products.

In accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, Italy received an application to set an import tolerance for the active substance tricyclazole in rice.

On 26 April 2018, Italy sent a report with its evaluation of that application to EFSA.

On 18 January 2023, EFSA adopted a favourable Reasoned Opinion on the evaluation of the safety of the proposed modified MRL for tricyclazole in rice 1 . The Commission therefore proposed a draft Regulation to the Member States in the Standing Committee for Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (SCoPAFF) to modify the relevant Union MRL accordingly.