Control Plant Diseases
For Better Farming And Better Living
Mimeo BP 9-10 March, 1958

FUNGICIDE TOLERANCES ESTABLISHED BY THE MILLER AMENDMENT

Congressional action has now legalized the Miller Amendment (Public Law 518) requested by the Food and Drug Administration of the U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Under this law, citizens of Indiana who use chemicals on edible crops produced for sale must comply with established tolerances for fungicides. Violation of the provisions of the Miller Amendment could result in legal action and condemnation of the agricultural product offered for sale, with considerable inconvenience and financial loss. In order to avoid violation of this new law, the following information has been prepared as a guide for Indiana growers and others using fungicidal chemicals for plant disease control on edible agricultural products.

The Purpose of The Miller Amendment

The purpose of the Miller Amendment is to assure greater protection of the public health by improving, simplifying and speeding up the procedure under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, to regulate the amount of residue which may remain on raw agricultural commodities after use of pesticide chemicals. Pesticide chemicals are substances such as insecticides, fungicides and weedkillers used in the production, storage and transportation of food for the purpose of controlling insects, plant diseases, weeds and other pests.

A primary objective was to develop legislation that would provide for prompt administrative action to permit effective use of pesticide chemicals without hazard to the public health—legislation safe for consumers and practical for producers.

The provisions of the Miller Amendment

Under the provisions of the Miller Amendment (Public Law 518) tolerances of limits have been established on the amounts of pesticidal chemicals which a raw agricultural food product may contain in interstate shipment. The same tolerances also could be enforced by state public health officers of raw agricultural food products offered for sale and consumption within the state of Indiana. At present most fungicides are involved in the requirements of the Miller Amendment only as they are applied as sprays or dusts to the edible portion of the plant.

Under this interpretation of the law, chemicals applied to soil, to seeds, and to seedling plants in plant beds are exempt from tolerance requirements where no chemical persists until harvest. Similarly, fungicides applied to potato foliage are exempt. However, forage and legumes are involved because of the possibility of carry-over to meat or milk. Residue tolerances (amount of fungicide on the edible product at harvest time) have been established for many edible, raw products and must be complied with.

PURDUE UNIVERSITY Agricultural Extension Service, Lafayette, Indiana Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Life Science Building