On January 10, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is opening a 60-day comment period requesting public comments on the sixth proposed rule in an ongoing series of revisions to the pesticide crop grouping regulations.

EPA states it is proposing revisions to its pesticide tolerance crop grouping regulations, which allow the establishment of tolerances for multiple related crops based on data from a representative set of crops. EPA proposes to amend the following crop groups:

• Crop Group 6: Legume Vegetables;

• Crop Group 7: Foliage of Legume Vegetables;

• Crop Group 15: Cereal Grains; and

• Crop Group 16: Forage, Fodder, and Straw of Cereal Grains.

The proposed rule includes changes to the terminology in the names of Crop Groups 6, 7, and 16 and the addition of commodities and modifications that increase efficiencies in assessing the risks of pesticides used on crops grown in and outside of the United States. The crop groups will now include certain minor or specialty crops, many of which have become more popular since the crop groups were first established.

EPA sets the maximum amount of a pesticide allowed to remain in or on a food (tolerances) as part of the process of regulating pesticides that may leave residues in food. Crop groups are established when residue data for certain representative crops are used to establish pesticide tolerances for a group of crops that are botanically or taxonomically related. Representative crops of a crop group or subgroup are those crops whose residue data can be used to establish a tolerance for the entire group or subgroup.

According to EPA, these revisions will:

• Enhance EPA’s ability to conduct food safety evaluations for tolerance-setting purposes;

• Promote global harmonization of food safety standards;

• Reduce regulatory burden; and

• Ensure food safety for agricultural goods.

Comments on the proposed rule are due on or before March 11, 2022, in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0766 at www.regulations.gov.