In accordance with Directive 91/414/EEC, authorisations of plant protection products for use on specific crops are the responsibility of the Member States. Such authorisations have to be based on the evaluation of effects on human and animal health and influence on the environment. Elements to be taken into account in such evaluations include operator and bystander exposure and impact on the terrestrial, aquatic and aerial environments, as well as impact on humans and animals through consumption of residues on treated crops.

Maximum residue levels (MRLs) reflect the use of minimum quantities of pesticides to achieve effective protection of plants, applied in such a manner that the amount of residue is the smallest practicable and is toxicologically acceptable, in particular in terms of estimated dietary intake.

MRLs for pesticides covered by Directive 90/642/EEC are to be kept under review and may be modified to take account of new or changed uses. Information about new or changed uses has been communicated to the Commission which should lead to changes in the residue levels of azoxystrobin, chlorothalonil, ioxynil and quinoxyfen.

For hexachlorobenzene information has been communicated to the Commission that this pesticide, due to environmental contamination, can occur in pumpkin seed, a commodity that is consumed as a food in several Member States, at levels higher than the limit of analytical determination. The insertion of ‘pumpkin seed’ in Annex I to Directive 90/642/EEC and setting of MRLs for pumpkin seed are therefore necessary to protect consumers from excess hexachlorobenzene residues.

For deltamethrin also temporary MRLs have been set in Directives 86/362/EEC, 86/363/EEC and 90/642/EEC by Directive 2006/59/EC, pending review of the Annex III dossier under Directive 91/414/EEC and re-registration of deltamethrin formulations at Member State level. Upon further examination, it appeared that more time should be allowed to ensure proper consideration of the uses of deltamethrin authorised at Member State level. It is therefore appropriate to prolong the validity of the temporary MRLs for deltamethrin.

Where authorised uses of plant protection products do not result in detectable levels of pesticide residues in or on the food product, or where there are no authorised uses, or where uses which have been authorised by Member States have not been supported by the necessary data, or where uses in third countries resulting in residues in or on food products which may enter into circulation in the Community market have not been supported with such necessary data, MRLs should be fixed at the lower limit of analytical determination.

The setting or modification at Community level of provisional MRLs does not prevent the Member States from establishing provisional MRLs for ioxynil and quinoxyfen in accordance with Article 4(1)(f) of Directive 91/414/EEC and Annex VI to that Directive. It is considered that a period of four years is sufficient to permit further uses of these substances. The provisional Community MRLs should then become definitive.

It is therefore necessary to modify the MRLs set out in Directives 86/362/EEC, 86/363/EEC and 90/642/EEC, to allow proper surveillance and control of the uses of the plant protection products concerned and to protect the consumer. Where MRLs have already been defined in the Annexes to those Directives, it is appropriate to amend them. Where MRLs have not yet been defined, it is appropriate to set them for the first time.

Directives 86/362/EEC, 86/363/EEC and 90/642/EEC should therefore be amended accordingly.

The measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,