12 Almond Facts
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2015
British Prime
Minister Enjoys
Blue
Diamond Almonds
After the U.K.’s Daily Mail reported that British Prime Minister
David Cameron uses almondmilk on his cereal in the morning
to stay slim,
Blue Diamond
was sure to send him a basket full of
the cooperative’s almonds and almond products. His team was
kind enough to send a thank you reply direct from Number 10
Downing Street.
EU Imposes Limitations on
Phosphite Levels in Almonds
For California’s almond growers, MRL’s, or Maximum
Residue Levels, have not posed signifcant impacts on normal
pest management decisions. However, MRL's have always
been on the minds of Pest Control Advisors as they work to
select the best options for managing disease problems and
insect populations within their grower’s orchards. And
a recent decision by European Union (EU)
offcials has magnifed the potential to bring
MRL considerations to the forefront for
California’s almond growers.
The EU recently revised the defnition
of the residues included under the
limits for the fungicide fosetyl-al,
knownunder the trade name, Aliette.
While fosetyl-al is not registered
for use on bearing almonds, the
expanded EU defnition includes
phosphite-containing products, which
are commonly used in the U.S. as foliar
fertilizers. Be clear that this decision affects
phosphite materials, not phosphate.
Because the U.S. EPA has exempted phosphite
containing fungicides from a tolerance and because of
the fact that fertilizers are not required to have an MRL,
no residue studies have been conducted to set a limit for
phosphite containing materials.
Without residue data for tree nuts, the EU has assigned
a default MRL of 2 ppm. However, current usage of
phosphite-containing foliar fertilizers by almond, walnut
and pistachio growers is likely to result in residues
exceeding this limit.
Various trade and grower organizations have expressed
concern to EU offcials about the trade impacts of their
decision. The EU requested that the European
Food Safety Authority make a quick risk
assessment for phosphite residues in tree
nuts and established a temporary MRL
of 75 ppm. However, this temporary
MRL is set to expire Dec. 31, 2015.
EU offcials have explained that the
limited timeframe of the MRL was
to cover the usage of phosphite
containing crop inputs during
the 2014 growing season. This
unfortunately poses some questions
on applications of phosphite
materials after the 2014 harvest.
Work has been initiated to develop a
residue testing program during the 2015
growing season to aid in establishing appropriate
MRL’s for the EU. However, the work will potentially take
several years to complete and for the data to make its way
through the EU regulatory system.
At this point in time, the implications of phosphite
applications on the 2015 crop are unknown. We will keep
you all apprised of any developments as they arise.