On May 24, China MIIT issued a notice to revoke the manufacturing approvals of 15 arsenic fungicide products due to their inclusion into an “elimination list” (see Chemlinked News Release on Jun 7 2013). However, the revocation does not necessary imply a complete ban as the ICAMA registration of these products are still effective, which means the products are allowed to be sold on the market. ICAMA is considering final steps to eliminate these substances from China.
MIIT’s revocation of asomate and urbacide fungicide approval was primarily due to the products having been listed into the “Guidance Catalogue of Obsolete Equipment and Products within Certain Industries”. The Catalogue specifies the products/equipment/technology and the timelines for their elimination with regards to specific industries, which include the steel, nonferrous metal, chemical, building material, machinery, light manufacturing, textile and pharmaceutical industries. Furthermore, these fungicides are widely applied on apple trees for special effects against canker disease, and were responsible for the “poisonous apple” scandal in Shandong. In 2011, the 10th session of the National Expert Committee for Pesticide Registration suggested that pesticide registration of these arsenic fungicides should be withdrawn according to due process. However, the revocation of manufacturing approvals also does not necessary mean the complete phase out in China. According to the statistics from ICAMA, 21 products from 13 registrants are currently within their valid period, which means some of the products are still allowed to be produced or sold in the market.
As analyzed form the statistics, most of the registrants are from Shandong, Hebei and Tianjin. ICAMA held a symposium in Tianjin on July 29, 2013 to consult the views from local subordinates and other stakeholders. The attendees acknowledged that the public have major concerns regarding food safety and environmental impact rather than the efficacy of active ingredients. Thus, the registrants agreed to cancel the registration of these products.
The symposium was hosted by the newly established registration review office of ICAMA, which is responsible for review or phasing out the pesticide previously registered with ICAMA.
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