EPA Tightens Limits for Alar Use on Food
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WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency lowered permissible levels of Alar in certain fruits and banned it in other foods Monday as part of its phase-out of the pesticide, which was removed from the market after it was linked to cancer.
In a final rule effective Monday, the EPA set tighter limits on Alar residues in apples and apple products, cherries, grapes, nectarines, peaches and peanuts. Those products must be free of Alar by May 31, 1991.
Beginning immediately, no Alar will be permitted in tomatoes or tomato products, milk, meat, meat byproducts, eggs and peanut meal.
“These actions are being taken because EPA has determined that long-term dietary exposure . . . poses unacceptable risks to the general population,” the EPA said in a Federal Register notice.
The EPA action is in line with the phase-out schedule set by the agency last year when it made the decision to ban the chemical, which was primarily used on apples to enhance color and prolong shelf life.
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