Food and Agriculture Organization Quality Standards Specifications for Pesticides
The establishment of voluntary standards to reduce risks associated with the use of pesticides is one of the primary objectives of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in the area of plant protection. The development of FAO specifications is a vital element in this context, to ensure that pesticides complying with the specifications are satisfactory for the purpose for which they are intended and that they do not present unexpected hazards.
FAO specifications are intended to enhance confidence in the purchase and use of pesticides and, at the same time, contribute towards better pest control measures and agricultural production.
Up to 1998, all FAO specifications could be applied to the products of any manufacturer, without restriction and immediately after publication. The specifications were based on a relatively modest amount of information, generally only from a single manufacturer. Applying specifications to the products of all manufacturers, on the basis of a limited assessment of the products of only one manufacturer, meant that unexpected risks or hazards associated with the products of certain manufacturers could be overlooked. Specification clauses could also be introduced that were not essential for management of risks in the use of the pesticide. More than 360 specifications had been developed under this procedure.
In 1999, the FAO introduced a new procedure for the development of pesticide specifications, based on a more detailed evaluation of information on physicial, chemical, toxicological and ecotoxicological characteristics. The evaluation of the data submitted is now published, along with the specification, for study by anyone who wishes to know more about the basis for the specifications. Specifications must now be supported by internationally accepted methods of analysis for the active ingredient.
Programme for Development of FAO and WHO Specifications for Pesticides | ||
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2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
FAO |
FAO |
FAO |
WHO |
WHO |
WHO |
FAO + WHO |
FAO + WHO |
FAO + WHO |
FAO and WHO evaluates the chemistry, impurity, toxicological, and ecotoxicological profiles of technical materials. Specifications will include only relevant impurities. |
Under the new procedure, the specifications apply only to the products of manufacturers whose data have been evaluated. Although these new specifications do not apply to the products of all manufacturers, they can be extended by FAO or WHO to another manufacturer’s products through a simple procedure involving a determination of “equivalence.” The procedure for the determination of equivalence and the related threshold levels for impurities (covering relevant and non-relevant impurities) were obtained in agreement with the parties involved (CropLife International and ECCA representatives) so they reflect the interests of multinational companies as owners of patented active substances and those of small and medium-sized companies normally putting out patent active substances on the market. Various registration authorities have or are in the process of adopting the FAO/WHO equivalence determination procedure.
Up to now, 53 FAO specifications have been established under the new procedure and are published on the respective website.
The World Health Organization (WHO) adopted the new FAO specifications procedure in 2000, adapting it as necessary to the special needs of public health pesticides.
In 2001 FAO and WHO formally harmonized this process through a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of pesticide specifications and established a Joint Panel known as the FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Specifications (JMPS). The objective of this joint programme is to provide unique, robust and universally applicable standards for pesticide quality with respect to pesticides used both for agricultural and for public health purposes. These standards now are based on the same procedure, format and supporting methodologies for pesticide specifications.
The Manual on development and use of FAO and WHO specifications for pesticides is the first publication of this joint FAO/WHO programme and supersedes all previous manuals and guidance documents published by either FAO or WHO on this subject (available electronically at http://www.fao.org/AG/AGP/AGPP/Pesticid and at http://www.who.int/ctd/whopes or as hardcopy as FAO Plant Production and Protection Paper 173, ISBN 92-5-104857-6). The Manual provides the standard process, unified requirements and procedures, harmonized definitions and nomenclature, technical guidelines and standards applicable to pesticides for use in agriculture and public health.
The annual meetings of the FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Specifications (JMPS) are normally held at the end of May or beginning of the different locations. The FAO and WHO websites, see above, provide further information regarding the dates, venue and the compounds under review. Table 1, see below, lists the 3-year programme of FAO and WHO. Since the inception of this joint programme, two meetings have been held. The first was in 2002 in Rome (Italy), and the second was in 2003 in Bucharest (Romania). Fifteen different pesticides have been reviewed during these two sessions either for agricultural or public health uses or for both, and seventeen specifications have been finalised. See also Table 1. FAO/WHO publish the minutes of the Open Meetings of the JMPS on their websites, see above, and these minutes include now a status report about the progress of the individual compounds in relation to the specification development.
At the first JMPS, held in June 2002 in Rome, it was also decided to withdraw 27 pesticide specifications which were found to be outdated and without relevance to governments and industry. This information and the names of the pesticides can be found too on the FAO website.
Review and Withdrawal of Outdated/Obsolete Specifications
At the First FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Specifications held in June 2002 in Rome, it was decided to withdraw 27 pesticide specifications which were found to be outdated and without relevance to governments and industry. The specifications, which will no longer appear on the FAO website (http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPP/Pesticid/Specs/review.htm) are listed in the table below.
Background — Since 1971, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has developed and published specifications for pesticides and their related formulations. These specifications are accepted world-wide as quality criteria for agricultural pesticides.
The main objective of the FAO Pesticide Specifications is to provide an international point of reference against which products can be judged, either for regulatory purposes or in commercial dealings, thereby helping to prevent the trading, sale and use of inferior products. In 1999, a new procedure was introduced which includes the review and withdrawal of existing specifications for plant protection products (FAO Plant Production and Protection Paper 149).
Together with the continuous development of new specifications, FAO has also initiated the review of outdated/obsolete specifications. There are various reasons for specifications becoming obsolete and their withdrawal considered. Some pesticides are no longer traded, some are classified as posing serious health or environmental risks to the user and the environment and their use in agriculture is no longer internationally recommended, e.g. pesticides subject to the Stockholm Convention. Others have been classified by the World Health Organization as obsolete or their use as pesticides has been discontinued (see WHO recommended classification of pesticides by hazard 2000-2002).
Withdrawal of Outdated/Obsolete Specifications | |
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anilazine | dioxathion |
bromophos | endrin |
camphechlor (toxaphene) | fenoprop |
chlorbenside | HHDN (aldrin) |
chlordane | heptachlor |
demeton | methoxyethylmercury chloride |
demeton-S-methyl | methoxyethylmercury silicate |
DDT + its mixtures | monuron |
HEOD (dieldrin) | nicotine |
HEOD (dieldrin) + mercury | nicotine sulphate |
dimefox | schradan |
dinoseb | 2,4,5-T |
A message explaining the above process and listing the pesticide specifications intended for withdrawal has until now been posted on this website. A similar message has been announced in major pesticide publications in the effort to reach all possible parties with any interest in one or more of the pesticides listed. FAO had received no comments prior to the deadline set, March 30, 2002.