Modification of the existing maximum residue levels for potassium phosphonates in various crops.

In accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, the applicants DE SANGOSSE S.A.S and Tilco-Alginure submitted a request to the competent national authorities in France and Germany to modify the existing maximum residue levels (MRL) for the active substance potassium phosphonates in banana, pineapples, radish roots and leaves (classified under the subgroup of kales at the time of the MRL application), beans without pods, peas with and without pods and sugar beets. The data submitted in support of the requested uses were found to be sufficient to derive MRL proposals for all crops under assessment except peas with pods. Adequate analytical methods for enforcement are available to control the residues of phosphonic acid in plant matrices, the commodities under consideration at the validated LOQ of 0.1 mg/kg. Based on the risk assessment results, EFSA concluded that the long-term intake of residues resulting from the use of potassium phosphonate according to the reported agricultural practices according to the current ADI of 1 mg/kg bw day is unlikely to present a risk to consumer health. A second assessment using the lower ADI of 0.69 mg/kg bw per day proposed in the peer review of choline hydrogen phosphonate confirmed the exceedances previously identified during the peer review for the Dutch toddler and German children diets. Should the proposed lower ADI be endorsed by risk managers, EFSA recommends a revision of the assessment of the existing MRLs for phosphonic acid and its salts, expressed as phosphonic acid.