Proposed Registration Decision PRD2022-03, Canola Oil, Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure, and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure

Pest Management Regulatory Agency
21 February 2022
ISSN: 1925-0886 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-9/2022-3E-PDF (PDF version)

Summary

Table of contents

• Proposed registration decision for canola oil
• What does Health Canada consider when making a registration decision?
• What is canola oil?
• Health considerations
• Environmental considerations
• Value considerations
• Measures to minimize risk
• Next steps
• Other information

Proposed registration decision for canola oil

Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), under the authority of the Pest Control Products Act, is proposing registration for the sale and use of Canola Oil, Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure, and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure, containing the technical grade active ingredient canola oil, to attract mice or rats to a trap for the purpose of rodent management.

Canola oil is currently registered to control a variety of insect and mite pests, as well as to suppress powdery mildew, on many ornamental, vegetable, fruit, and nut crops both in the field and greenhouse, as well as on indoor cannabis. For details, see Proposed Registration Decision PRD2016-24, Canola oil, and Registration Decision RD2016-35, Canola oil.

An evaluation of available scientific information found that, under the approved conditions of use, the health and environmental risks and the value of the pest control products are acceptable.

This summary describes the key points of the evaluation, while the Science Evaluation of Proposed Registration Decision PRD2022-03, Canola Oil, Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure, and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure provides detailed technical information on the human health, environmental and value assessments of canola oil, Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure, and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure.

What does Health Canada consider when making a registration decision?

The key objective of the Pest Control Products Act is to prevent unacceptable risks to people and the environment from the use of pest control products. Health or environmental risk is considered acceptable if there is reasonable certainty that no harm to human health, future generations or the environment will result from use or exposure to the product under its proposed conditions of registration. The Act also requires that products have value when used according to the label directions. Conditions of registration may include special precautionary measures on the product label to further reduce risk.

To reach its decisions, the PMRA applies modern, rigorous risk-assessment methods and policies. These methods consider the unique characteristics of sensitive subpopulations in humans (for example, children) as well as organisms in the environment. These methods and policies also consider the nature of the effects observed and the uncertainties when predicting the impact of pesticides. For more information please refer to the following:

• Protecting Your Health and the Environment
• Pesticide Registration Process
• Pesticide Risk Reduction Program.

Before making a final registration decision on canola oil, Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure, and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure, Health Canada’s PMRA will consider any comments received from the public in response to PRD2022-03. Health Canada will then publish a Registration Decision on canola oil, Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure, and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure, which will include the decision, the reasons for it, a summary of comments received on the proposed registration decision and Health Canada’s response to these comments.

For more details on the information presented in this summary, please refer to the Science Evaluation of PRD2022-03.

What is canola oil?

Canola oil is a non-conventional biopesticide derived from seeds of the canola plant. It is also commonly used as an ingredient in many prepared foods. As rodents are attracted to foods containing energy-rich substances like oils, canola oil serves as an effective rodent attractant or lure when applied in or in the vicinity of rodent traps.

Health considerations

Can approved uses of canola oil affect human health?

Canola oil is unlikely to affect human health when it is used according to label directions.

Potential exposure to canola oil may occur when handling and applying the products Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure. When assessing health risks, two key factors are considered:

• the levels at which no health effects occur and
• the levels to which people may be exposed.

The levels used to assess risks are established to protect the most sensitive human population (for example, children and nursing mothers). As such, sex and gender are taken into account in the risk assessment. Only uses for which the exposure is well below levels that cause no effects in animal testing are considered acceptable for registration.

Toxicology studies in laboratory animals describe potential health effects from varying levels of exposure to a chemical and identify the dose where no effects are observed.

Publicly available toxicology information was submitted for canola oil. The technical grade active ingredient, Canola Oil, is food grade and is considered to be of low acute toxicity by the oral, dermal and inhalation routes and mildly irritating to the eyes and skin. Canola oil may be a respiratory irritant. It is not expected to be a dermal sensitizer. Based on a review of the available scientific literature, exposure to canola oil is not expected to have any short- or long-term health effects.

Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure, the end-use products, are considered to be of low acute toxicity by the oral, dermal and inhalation routes, mildly irritating to the eyes and skin and not expected to be dermal sensitizers. The end-use product labels require milk, soy and tree nut (hazelnut) allergen warning statements.

Residues in water and food

Dietary risks from food and water are acceptable.

The end-use products, Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure, are not proposed for food or feed uses. Dietary or drinking water exposure is not expected from the use of canola oil as an animal lure. Consequently, health risks from dietary exposure are acceptable for all segments of the population, including infants, children, adults and seniors.

Risks in residential and other non-occupational environments

Estimated risk for residential and other non-occupational exposure is acceptable.

Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure are domestic class products proposed for use as rodent lures to be used with the A24 Rat & Mouse Trap. The user loads Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure into the device and baits the area around the device with Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure. The product labels will include measures to reduce bystander (including children and companion animals) exposure such as keeping the end-use products out of reach of children and pets, limiting the use of the products to locations not accessible to children, pets or livestock and storing the products in areas away from children, pets, and livestock. Additionally, there is a label statement identifying the hazard chocolate can pose to dogs.

Residential and non-occupational exposure to Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure is therefore expected to be low when label directions are observed. Consequently, the risk to residents, companion animals and the general public is acceptable.

Occupational risks from handling Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure

Occupational risk assessments are not required for Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure.

Since Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure are domestic products, an occupational risk assessment is not required.

Environmental considerations

What happens when canola oil is introduced into the environment?

Due to the proposed use pattern, environmental exposure is expected to be minimal and therefore the risks to the environment are acceptable.

The products are canola oil lures that attract rats and mice to a device, which kills the rodent by swift physical force. The active ingredient in the lure, canola oil, is food grade and is not toxic to wildlife. Similarly, other formulants in the lure are not toxic to wildlife. It is possible the device could cause some mortalities of small non-target wildlife. However, exposure of non-target wildlife to the device is expected to be limited given the proposed uses, which target rodent infestation locations. From an environmental perspective, these products pose no risk of primary or secondary poisoning and very limited overall risk to non-target wildlife.

Value considerations

What is the value of Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure?

Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure, containing canola oil, are paste lures that are used to attract rodents to the vicinity of or into, respectively, a trap that is designed to kill rodents by lethal head trauma.

Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure is an effective, ready-to-use rat and mouse lure that is applied directly to surfaces in the vicinity of rodent traps in indoor and outdoor domestic settings.

Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure is a ready-to-use rat and mouse lure that is applied to a A24 Rat & Mouse Trap in a canister for the purpose of attracting rats and mice to the trap mechanism when traps are placed in rodent-infested indoor and outdoor domestic settings.

Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure are the first non-conventional products proposed for registration in Canada with a claim to “lure” mice or rats for the purpose of rodent management.

When used with the A24 Rat & Mouse Trap, both Goodnature lure products may be used as alternatives to toxic food baits in a rodenticide resistance management program or in conjunction other rodent control practices, such as rodent repellents, hygienic practices and chemical rodenticides, as part of an integrated pest management program.

Measures to minimize risk

Labels of registered pesticide products include specific instructions for use. Directions include risk-reduction measures to protect human and environmental health. These directions must be followed by law.

The key risk-reduction measures being proposed on the label of Canola Oil, Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure to address the potential risks identified in this assessment are as follows.

Key risk-reduction measures

Human health

The signal words “PREVENT ACCESS BY UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL” and “CAUTION – EYE AND SKIN IRRITANT” are required on the principal display panel for Canola Oil, along with standard hazard and precautionary statements to inform workers of the potential for respiratory, eye and skin irritation of the technical grade active ingredient.

The signal words “KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN AND PETS,” “CAUTION – EYE AND SKIN IRRITANT” and “Warning: Contains the allergens milk, soy and tree nuts (hazelnut)” are required on the principal display panels of the labels for Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure. Standard hazard and precautionary statements are required on the labels for the end-use products to inform users of the potential for eye and skin irritation.

“Do not use in areas accessible to children, pets or domestic animals.” and “Do not store in areas accessible to children, pets and domestic animals.” statements are required on the end-use product labels to mitigate exposure to bystanders (including children) and companion animals in residential areas.

The labels for the end-use products require a first aid statement to contact a veterinarian if pet poisoning is suspected, and the PMRA supports a statement under TOXICOLOGICAL INFORMATION proposed by the Registrant that mitigates against incidental oral exposure of dogs to chocolate.

Next steps

Before making a final registration decision on canola oil, Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure, Health Canada’s PMRA will consider any comments received from the public in response PRD2022-03. Health Canada will accept written comments on this proposal up to 45 days from the date of publication of PRD2022-03. Please forward all comments to Publications. Health Canada will then publish a Registration Decision, which will include its decision, the reasons for it, a summary of comments received on the proposed decision and Health Canada’s response to these comments.

Other information

When the Health Canada makes its registration decision, it will publish a Registration Decision on canola oil, Goodnature Rat & Mouse Lure and Goodnature Rat & Mouse Pre-Feed Lure (based on the Science Evaluation of PRD2022-03). In addition, the test data referenced in this consultation document will be available for public inspection, upon application, in the PMRA’s Reading Room.