EU phased out herbicide asulam

The European Commission has decided not to re-register the herbicide, asulam. It has instructed EU member states to withdraw approvals by 31 December 2011. Existing stocks are allowed to be sold until 31 December 2012 at the latest.

Once an application was submitted to the UK, which had been designated rapporteur Member State. The UK's findings were reported to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and to the European Commission and have also been considered by the other Member States. After evaluation, concerns were identified regarding asulam. It was not possible to perform a reliable consumer exposure assessment as data were missing concerning the presence and toxicity of the metabolite sulfanilamide, as well as concerning the presence of other potentially significant metabolites that were not analysed in the available residue trials and processing studies. Furthermore, no data was available on the toxicological relevance of the impurities in the technical specification of asulam. In addition, a high risk to birds was identified. Despite further arguments put forward by the applicant, these concerns could not be eliminated. Asulam has therefore not been approved.