Comment submitted by Luis Fernando Monge, Dole Organic Program

This is in support of the current tolerance exemption for rotenone. Growers and exporters to the U.S. need to use rotenone to control red rust thrips in bananas and mealy bugs in pineapple. These pests can cause serious losses. Rotenone is an ingredient which is derived from plants native to the tropics and is not protected by patent. Because of this, pesticide manufacturers in the US were not interested in incurring the expense for U.S. registrations. However, rotenone has been used by indigenous peoples for centuries and is important particularly for small growers of many crops that export to the United States. The USDA-National Organic Program allows the use of rotenone (See: 7 CFR §205.206 (e)). Organic products imported into the US can be treated with rotenone, but the revocation would mean that applying this to crops outside the US would make these food products “adulterated” ([21 USC §342]; [21 USC §346a]). This rule is in conflict with the NOP regulation. The proposed rule goes against the OFPA (Organic Food Production Act) enacted under Title 21 in the 1990. The NOSB (National Organic Standards Board) supports the use of rotenone and the OMRI (Organic Material Review Institute) has no annotation of the eminent revocation of the tolerance exemption. Furthermore, the organic equivalency agreements signed by the USDA with the European Union just a few months ago would come under scrutiny. The European Union legislation on Organic Agriculture specifically lists rotenone in their regulation (See EC 889-2008 Annex II.1) as an approved substance for use in field crops. Finally, proposed rule could come into conflict with free trade agreements signed by the US and be considered a non-tariff trade barrier. Therefore, I request the continued exemption from the requirement of an import tolerance for the pesticide rotenone when applied to all growing crops imported into the US. Submitted by: Luis Fernando Monge, Dole Organic Program. Email: luis.monge@dole.com