The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has proposed raising the maximum residue level (MRL) for mepiquat chloride in honey from 0.5 mg/kg to 1.5 mg/kg, concluding that the change poses no risk to consumer health. In a reasoned opinion adopted on 25 June 2026 and published on 17 July 2026, EFSA assessed an application by INNVIGO Sp. z o. o. to modify the existing MRL due to potential residue transfer from wheat treatment to honey via bees foraging on non-target plants.
The application was submitted to the Netherlands competent authority on 30 August 2023 and declared admissible on 22 March 2024. A public consultation ran from 10 May to 31 May 2024, yielding no additional data or comments. The evaluating member state submitted an initial evaluation report on 26 July 2024, proposing an MRL of 1.5 mg/kg. After EFSA requested further clarification, the applicant provided updated data, leading to a revised evaluation report on 5 June 2026. EFSA considered the latest EU pesticide peer review for mepiquat chloride, which was renewed on 1 March 2025, and derived a new acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 0.065 mg/kg body weight per day, lower than the previous 0.2 mg/kg. The acute reference dose remains 0.3 mg/kg. Using its Pesticide Residues Intake Model (PRIMo) revision 3.1, EFSA found that short-term exposure did not exceed the acute reference dose, and the highest long-term dietary intake accounted for 30% of the ADI (NL toddler), with honey contributing only 0.08% of the ADI (DE child). Sufficiently validated analytical methods (HPLC–MS/MS) are available for enforcement at a limit of quantification of 0.01 mg/kg.
The proposal, if adopted by the European Commission and member states, would increase the MRL from the current limit of quantification of 0.5 mg/kg to 1.5 mg/kg. This change primarily affects honey producers and beekeepers, who may face higher compliance costs for testing residues at the new level, but also benefit from clearer regulatory limits. EU consumers are unlikely to experience health risks, as the exposure remains well below safety thresholds. The pesticide industry, represented by applicant INNVIGO, gains a pathway for continued use of mepiquat chloride on wheat without market restrictions for honey. National enforcement authorities will need to update monitoring programs to the new MRL, but the validated analytical method facilitates this. No institutional follow-up is specified beyond the standard comitology procedure for MRL amendments.