Tighter herbicide restrictions to protect international trade

Date:07-15-2009

Withholding periods for herbicide products containing the chemical bromoxynil will soon be increased from 14 days to 8 weeks.

Bromoxynil (see suppliers on agropages) is the main ingredient in a range of herbicides used to control a variety of weeds in food and fodder crops, and also in pastures.

It's been discovered that residues from the chemical remain in products exposed to bromoxynil much longer than previously thought, prompting the Australian Pest and Veterinary Medicines Authority to change the labelling requirements.

The APVMA will shortly be writing to herbicide manufacturers to outline the new labelling requirements.

The Authority's Dr Simon Cubit says the changes will protect Australia's export markets.
"The issue here is for international trade," he says.

"In order to protect international trade, we need to ensure that animals that are grazed on crops sprayed with bromoxynil do not contain the residues."