b'WHEN CHLORPROPHAM (CIPC) came up forNele Cattoor, regulatory affairs manager at Bel-review in early 2018, European potato growersgapoma non-profit association for the Belgian werent overly concerned about losing the sproutpotato trade and processing industry. inhibitor. Later that year, though, it became clearIn March 2019, the task force withdrew sup-non-renewal was a very real possibility.port for all representative uses, Cattoor says. In The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)other words, no safe use could be identified.had raised concerns regarding risk, and whenEuropes potato sector was caught by surprise. those concerns were not quelled, authorizationIn 2018, everyone still believed we had a chance was withdrawn. to get renewal for CIPC, Cattoor adds. Later that CIPC alternatives are available, but none soyear, it became clear that this was utopia, given far work as welland theyre more expensive.the very adverse ADI and ARfD numbers.Could deregulation in Europe impact North Amer- As a result, renewal wasnt granted and Eu-icas potato growers? No one knows for sure, butropean Member States were ordered to withdraw preparedness is key.authorizations for plant protection products containing chlorpropham by Jan. 8, 2020. THE UNEXPECTED BAN It became clear that with such toxicological When chlorpropham came up for re-evaluation inreality we could no longer, in good conscience, pro- Terence Hochstein, executive director of Potato Growers Alberta.2018, the EFSA was asked to examine a renewalceed and looked towards the future, says Cattoor. assessment report prepared by Risk ManagementThe authorities granted a grace period which Solutions (RMS). Several concerns were raisedexpired on Oct. 8, 2020 and told Member States to during the course of re-evaluation. make the grace period as short as possible. Some Specifically, the ESFA found the highest chron- countries waited until the grace period ended, ic exposure to chlorpropham residues had, at thatwhile others withdrew chlorpropham earlier. In time, exceeded the acceptable daily intake (ADI)Belgium, growers were given until June 30, 2020.by 180 per cent, and exposure to residues of itsThe first proposal of our Ministry wasmetabolite 3CA had exceeded ADI by 195 peractually to withdraw it from January 2020 cent. In an acute assessment, chlorpro- onwards, explains Cattoor. We managed to ex-pham exceeded acute referenceplain the seasonal characteristics of the potato dose (ARfD) by 797 per cent,crop and storage and got extension until the end 3CA exceeded ARfD byof June 2020.2360 per cent.The Belgian Ministry of Public Health did not At the time, the EFSAwant to open the door to misuse by allowing it also raised concerns aboutto be used at the start of the next season, she the potential endocrineadds. They wanted the 2019 crop to be the last disrupting properties oftreated crop. Nele Cattoor, regulatory affairs manager at Belgapom.chlorpropham and asked for a risk assessment reportCHOOSING AN ALTERNATIVEfor non-target anthro- Following non-renewal, growers and storage pods. When this could notspecialists began experimenting with CIPC be finalized, the Europeanalternatives. There are several available, including Commission (EC) asked the ap- ethylene gas, spearmint oil (sold as Biox-M), plicants, a task force madeorange oil (sold as Argos), and 1,4DMN (sold as up of Certis Europe, AcetoDormFresh in Europe). and UPL, to submitAlthough there are alternatives available, counterargumentseach seems to present a challenge. While 1,4DMN to their findings.is approved for use in many Member States and Theirsome third countries (countries which are not EU defensemembers but have the right to free movement wasntwithin the EU), its not approved in the countries convincingof some of Europes biggest trading partners. This enoughsometimes means no residues, which translates to to suppressless than 0.01 mg/kg, can appear on products.Kevin MacIsaac, general manager of United Potato concerns, explains1,4 Dimethylnapthalene (1,4DMN) is a natu- Growers of Canada.SPRING 2021 SPUDSMART.COM 7'