EU Notifies Trade Partners of Chlorpyrifos Prohibition

Countries part of the World Trade Organization have until Dec. 2 to comment on a draft European Union rule that would prohibit the widely-used insecticide chlorpyrifos in the bloc after Jan. 31, 2020.

Chlorpyrifos is used on fruit, corn, and other crops, and pesticide formulations containing it are currently allowed in most of the 28 EU countries. But a recent European Food Safety Authority assessment found it to be a potential cause of neurological damage in children, with no safe exposure level.

Consequently, the EU-level authorization for the substance should be withdrawn, and products containing chlorpyrifos should be removed ...