Reasoned opinion on the modification of the existing MRLs for pymetrozine in lamb's lettuce and beans (with pods)

In accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, the Netherlands, herewith referred to as the evaluating Member State (EMS), received an application from LTO Groeiservice to modify the existing MRLs for pymetrozine in lamb's lettuce and beans (with pods). In order to accommodate for the intended use of pymetrozine on these crops, the EMS proposed to raise the existing MRLs from 2 mg/kg to 15 mg/kg in lamb's lettuce and to 7 mg/kg in beans (with pods). The EMS drafted an evaluation report according to Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, which was submitted to the European Commission and forwarded to EFSA. According to EFSA, the residue trials on lamb's lettuce and beans (with pods) were not valid because the samples were stored for a period for which integrity of the samples is not guaranteed. The proposal to compensate for the potential loss of residues during storage by applying a correction factor is not acceptable because the instability of pymetrozine residues in watery matrices is not only affected by the nature of the crop, but might depend also on other factors such as the preparation of samples and the design of the residue decline studies. EFSA therefore concludes that the available data are not sufficient to derive a MRL proposal for lamb's lettuce and beans (with pods) reflecting the intended GAP notified in this application.