The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized amendments to the pesticide tolerance regulation for permethrin under section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). The action follows pesticide petition PP 4E9106, submitted by the Interregional Research Project No. 4 (IR-4), and updates 40 CFR § 180.378 to reflect revised and expanded crop groupings.
Under the final rule, EPA establishes new tolerances for residues of permethrin (cis- and trans-isomers) in or on several raw agricultural commodities, including arugula, garden cress, upland cress, dragon fruit (pitaya), field corn subgroup 15-22C, leafy greens subgroup 4-16A, and sweet corn subgroup 15-22D, with tolerance levels ranging from 0.05 ppm to 50 ppm depending on the commodity. Concurrently, EPA removes several previously established individual tolerances, such as those for field corn grain, pop corn grain, head lettuce, spinach, leafy green subgroup 4A, and sweet corn kernels, as these are now superseded by the updated subgroup tolerances.
EPA reviewed public comments received during the notice of filing stages and determined that the available toxicological, dietary, drinking water, and residential exposure data support the safety of the revised tolerances. The Agency concluded that aggregate exposure to permethrin residues, including exposure to infants and children, meets the statutory safety standard of a reasonable certainty of no harm. Acute dietary exposure estimates remain well below the Agencys level of concern, and no cumulative risks of concern were identified for pyrethroids sharing a common mechanism of toxicity.
This final tolerance action ensures regulatory consistency, accommodates additional crop uses (including dragon fruit), and aligns existing tolerances with current crop group classifications while maintaining consumer health protection.