Potato growers with box stores and supplying the fresh sector are being urged to share their data to secure the long-term future of buildings where the sprout suppressant CIPC (chlorpropham) was used.

CIPC was widely used in potato stores across the UK until its withdrawal in 2020.

One legacy of its use is that the chemical can remain in the fabric of the building, with trace amounts being detected in stored potatoes.

See also: Selling direct to local feed mill saves on storage and drying

In April, the Chemical Regulations Division (CRD) of the Health and Safety Executive implemented a temporary Maximum Residue Level (tMRL) of 0.35mg/kg.

This limit will be maintained as long as the industry can prove that it is required and, to demonstrate this, data needs to be submitted on annual basis.

Without this data, the MRL will drop to 0.01mg/kg and this could mean 30-40% of stores are at risk of being taken out of use.

To satisfy the data requirements of the CRD, the UK potato industry established a cross-industry body – the CIPC Residues Monitoring Group (CRMG) – to oversee data submissions.

However, the group’s chairman, Adrian Cunnington, reports they are still lacking data from box stores in the fresh sector from across the country.

Therefore, the group is appealing for those supplying this market, who previously used CIPC, to submit their residue data.

Data can be sent to Adrian at adrian@potatostorageinsight.com, who will anonymise the data and submit to the CRD. 

More details can be found on the CRMG’s dedicated webpage.