US EPA issues two exemptions of biopesticide residue tolerance

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently has established exemption of residue tolerance for fungicide Bacillus subtilis strain IAB/BS03 in or on all food commodities. The applicant is Investigaciones y Aplicaciones Biotechnologicas (IAB, S.L.), based in Spain. Objections must be received on or before April 21, 2015.  

 

The agency also issued temporary exemption of a tolerance for residues of the VNT1 protein in potato when used as a plant-incorporated protectant. The gene that confers Potato Late Blight Resistance (Rpi-vnt1) is found naturally in wild potato varieties. When Rpi-vnt1 is expressed in potato, the VNT1 protein it encodes confers broad-spectrum resistance to Phytophthora infestans, late blight of potato. The agency noted that objections and requests for hearings must be received on or before April 24, 2015.