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    Annex 2      JMPR 1975

    GLOSSARYa

    Pesticide

    A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for
    preventing or controlling any unwanted species of plants and animals
    and also includes any substances or mixture of substances intended for
    use as a plant-growth regulator, defoliant or dessicant.

          Explanatory note. The term "pesticide" includes any substance
    used for the control of pests during the production, storage,
    transport, marketing or processing of food for man or animals or which
    may be administered to animals for the control of insects or arachnids
    in or on their bodies. It does not apply to antibiotics or other
    chemicals administered to animals for other purposes, such as to
    stimulate their growth or to modify their reproductive behaviour; nor
    does it apply to fertilizers.

    Pesticide residue

         A pesticide residue is any substance or mixture of substances in
    food for man or animals resulting from the use of a pesticide and
    includes any specified derivatives, such as degradation and conversion
    products, metabolites, reaction products and impurities which are
    considered to be of toxicological significance.

     Explanatory note. The term "pesticide residue" includes residues
    from unknown sources (i.e., background residues) as well as those from
    known uses or the chemical in question.

         Good agricultural practice in the use of pesticides

         Good agricultural practice in the use of pesticides is the
    officially recommended or authorized usage of pesticides under
    practical conditions at any stage of production, storage, transport,
    distribution and processing of food and other agricultural
    commodities, bearing in mind the variations in requirements within and
    between regions and taking into account the minimum quantities
    necessary to achieve adequate control, the pesticides being applied in
    such a manner as to leave residues that are the smallest amounts
    practicable and that are toxicologically acceptable.

                       
    a The definitions given in this glossary am those adopted for use in
    Joint FAO/ WHO Meetings on Pesticide Residues and are not necessarily
    of universal validity.

     Explanatory note. The "officially recommended or authorized" usage
    is that which complies with the procedures, including formulation,
    dosage rates, frequency of application and pre-harvest intervals,
    approved by the relevant authorities.

    Acceptable daily intake

         The acceptable daily intake of a chemical is the daily intake
    which, during an entire lifetime, appears to be without appreciable
    risk on the basis of all the known facts at the time. It is expressed
    in milligrams of the chemical per kilogram of body weight.

     Explanatory note. For this purpose "without appreciable risk" is
    taken to mean the practical certainty that injury will not result even
    after a lifetime of exposure. Furthermore, for a pesticide residue,
    the acceptable daily intake is intended to give a guide to the maximum
    amount that can be taken daily in the food "without appreciable risk"
    to the consumer. Accordingly, the figure is derived as far as possible
    from feeding studies in animals and/or man. The studies are usually
    conducted with the pesticide chemical itself. However, if the residues
    of a pesticide are known to consist of more than one chemical that may
    influence the toxicology of the residue (see definition of "pesticide
    residue"), information on the toxicology of the residual chemicals
    and, where appropriate, their acceptable daily intakes have to be
    taken into account when assessing the risks (see section 2.3 of the
    report of the 1969 Joint Meeting for further information concerning
    the inclusion of metabolites). Acceptable daily intakes are always
    subject to revision at any time in the light of new information.

    Temporary acceptable daily intake

         A temporary acceptable daily intake is an acceptable daily intake
    established for a specified, limited period.

     Explanatory note. A specified period is provided to enable
    additional biochemical, toxicological or other data to be obtained, as
    may be required for establishing an acceptable daily intake (see
    definition of "further work required"). In such cases any
    recommendation will normally involve the application of a safety
    factor, the size of which will depend on the nature of the toxicity of
    the compound but which will be larger than that normally used in
    estimating acceptable daily intakes. In all cases the position will be
    reviewed not later than the first meeting following the specified
    date.

    Conditional acceptable daily intake

         A conditional acceptable daily intake is one that is established
    for a pesticide in order to limit its use to those situations where no
    satisfactory substitutes are available.

    Potential daily intake

         The potential daily intake of a pesticide is the theoretical
    intake calculated on the basis of the maximum residue limits and/or
    extraneous residue limits and the  per caput consumption of the
    relevant food commodities per day.

    Maximum residue limit

         A maximum residue limit is the maximum concentration of a
    pesticide residue resulting from the use of a pesticide according to
    good agricultural practice directly or indirectly for the production
    and/or protection of the commodity for which the limit is recommended.
    The maximum residue limit should be legally recognized. It is
    expressed in milligrams of the residue per kilogram of the commodity.

     Explanatory note. The expression "maximum residue limit" replaces
    the formerly used "tolerance" in accordance with the practice
    initiated by the 1972 Joint Meeting.

    Temporary maximum residue limit

         A temporary maximum residue limit is a maximum residue limit
    established for a specified, limited period.

     Explanatory note. The expression "temporary maximum residue limit"
    replaces the formerly used "temporary tolerance" in accordance with
    the practice initiated by the 1972 Joint Meeting.

         A temporary maximum residue limit is proposed under either of the
    following conditions:

    (i) when only a temporary or conditional acceptable daily intake has
    been established for the pesticide concerned; or 

    (ii) when, although, an acceptable daily intake has been established,
    the residue data are inadequate for firm maximum residue
    recommendations.

    Residues for which data are inadequate include those for which
    information on losses of residue during storage, handling and
    preparation is inadequate and for which calculations based on the
    inadequate figures indicate that the potential daily intake could be
    exceeded. In cases of this kind temporary maximum residue limits are
    recommended only after the Joint Meeting has considered information on
    the actual occurrence of residues in food, obtained front total diet
    and similar studies, and after it is satisfied that the potential
    daily intake is not likely to be exceeded. The information considered
    includes the results from subjective and/or objective sampling,
    including total diet studies, in various countries and particularly in
    places where pesticides are most widely used. Temporary maximum
    residue limits will be reviewed no later than the first meeting
    following the specified date.


    Extraneous residue limit

         An extraneous residue limit is, for a particular commodity, the
    maximum toxicologically acceptable concentration of a residue
    unavoidably arising from sources other than the use of a pesticide
    directly or indirectly for the production of that commodity. The
    extraneous residue limit should be legally recognized.

     Explanatory note. Residues in food of animal origin arising from
    residues in animal feed derived from activities that are controllable
    by farming practices are covered by "maximum residue limits". The term
    "practical residue limits" which has lead to much confusion has been
    abandoned.

    Guideline level

         A guideline level is the maximum concentration of a pesticide
    residue that might occur after the officially recommended or
    authorized use of a pesticide for which no acceptable daily intake or
    temporary acceptable daily intake is established and that need not be
    exceeded if good practices are followed. It is expressed in milligrams
    of the residue per kilogram of the food.

    Total diet study

         A total diet study is a study designed to establish the pattern
    of pesticide residue intake by a person consuming a defined diet.

     Explanatory note. To make total diet studies, random samples of food
    are usually purchased in representative population centres in the
    country or district concerned and weighed out in the proportions in
    which they are consumed in the total diet. The weighed portions are
    then washed, cooked or otherwise prepared in the normal way for table
    presentation and then mixed to give a number of predetermined food
    group samples comprising, for example, cereals, green vegetables, root
    crops, fruits and preserves, fats, meats and milk. These groups are
    chosen with the intention of minimizing the subsequent analytical
    problems; they also serve to identify the areas of the diet which
    contribute most to total residues present. The foods are purchased and
    prepared under expert supervision with the requirements of the studies
    in mind, but otherwise they resemble as far as possible the normal
    character of the total diet. Water and beverages are included. Each
    food group sample, prepared as above, is analysed for various
    residues. This may involve several different analyses for each group.
    The exact analytical procedure may vary from group to group. In
    addition, from experience, it may become possible to omit certain
    analyses for some groups. Thus, the different groups will not
    necessarily be subject to exactly the same analytical procedure.
    Similar studies have also been described as "market basket" studies.

    Subjective sample

         A subjective sample is a sample of a food or other agricultural
    commodity taken after a known or suspected use of a pesticide thereon.

     Explanatory note. Subjective samples include those taken during the
    early stages of the introduction of a pesticide into practical
    application, when it is desirable to ascertain the residues occurring
    after known methods of application in the field, as well as those
    taken in circumstances where there are reasons to suspect that good
    agricultural practices have not been followed. Such samples may relate
    to, crops from specific sites or from districts or countries where the
    use of particular pesticides is known or suspected. Subjective
    sampling, rather than total diet studies, is sometimes used to assess
    the actual danger to consumers, particularly where the sampling and
    analytical facilities are limited; it enables the facilities to be
    concentrated on those categories of food intake considered to offer
    the greatest risks. Subjective sampling also enables certain of the
    analytical difficulties encountered in total diet studies to be
    avoided.

    Objective sample

         An objective sample is a sample of a food or other agricultural
    commodity taken at random.

     Explanatory note. The samples taken during total diet intake studies
    fall into this category.

    Regulatory method of analysis

    A regulatory method of analysis is a method suitable for the
    determination of a pesticide residue in connexion with the enforcement
    of legislation.

     Explanatory note. For this purpose, it is often necessary to
    identify the nature of the residue as well as to determine its
    concentration. Subject to any expression of requirements in the
    particular legislation, the accuracy, precision and limit of
    determination of a regulatory method need be sufficient only to
    demonstrate clearly whether or not a maximum residue limit has been
    exceeded. Usually, regulatory methods are not specified in pesticide
    residues legislation, and at any given time there may be a number of
    methods suitable for a particular purpose.

    Further work required

         Further work required is work that must be done, properly
    reported and made available to the Joint Meeting within a specified
    period before acceptable daily intakes and/or maximum residue limits
    can be recommended or confirmed.

     Explanatory note. In certain instances, although acceptable daily
    intakes have been established, further work has been considered to be
    essential to remove doubts about the toxicological significance of
    some experimental observations. Results of the further work required
    should be made available not later than the specified date, after
    which the compound will be re-evaluated. The re-evaluation may be done
    at an earlier Meeting if relevant information should become available.

    Further work desirable

         Further work desirable is work which, when properly reported and
    made available to the Joint Meeting, would be expected to provide
    additional assurance that acceptable daily intakes and recommended
    maximum residue limits are adequate for the protection of the health
    of the consumer.

    Limit of determination

         The limit of determination of a method of analysis is the lowest
    concentration of a pesticide residue that can be quantitatively
    measured in the specified commodity with an acceptable degree of
    certainty.

    Limit of detection

         The limit of detection of a method of analysis is the lowest
    concentration of a pesticide residue that can be qualitatively
    detected in a specified commodity.

    ANNEX 3

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    See Also:
       Toxicological Abbreviations