Mecoprop-P renewed until 30 September 2033 as a candidate for substitution; EFSA pointed to the lack of enantioselective methods for residue monitoring
By Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2025 of 10 September 2026, published on 11 September, the Commission renewed the approval of the herbicide mecoprop-P for 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2033. The substance is persistent in fresh water (half-life over 40 days) and toxic to freshwater organisms (long-term NOEC below 0.01 mg/l).
- Specification: purity at least 890 g/kg, relevant impurity 4-chloro-2-methylphenol (PCOC) below 5 g/kg; CAS No 16484-77-8, CIPAC 475. The regulation applies from 1 October 2026; the restriction to herbicide uses was not kept. Member States are to pay particular attention to the nature and level of residues in food of plant and animal origin and to the protection of children living nearby, operators and workers, terrestrial plants and birds.
- By 1 April 2027 the applicant must submit a full report of an avian reproduction study under OECD Test Guideline 206, because the risk assessment for birds could not be finalised.
- In its updated conclusions of 2023 EFSA stated that the current LC-MS/MS method for monitoring food and feed determines total mecoprop (acid, esters and conjugates) with a limit of quantification of 0.01 mg/kg but does not distinguish enantiomers — hence a data gap for a chiral method for mecoprop-P in plant commodities (for animal matrices depending on the final residue definition). LC-MS/MS methods for soil, water and air have limits of quantification of 0.01 mg/kg in soil, 0.02 µg/l in surface water and 0.28 µg/m³, likewise without separating enantiomers.
- EFSA also noted that for the representative use on winter cereals in the FOCUS Okehampton scenario mecoprop-P may be present in shallow groundwater above the drinking water limit of 0.1 µg/l, and that the potential for racemisation of the R isomer in soil, water and air had not been adequately addressed.