Plant protection products (PPP) are mixtures used specifically for crop protection. The European Regulation (EC) 1107/2009 regulates the placing on the market of these products (for definition of PPP see Article 2). For Luxembourg, further rules are defined in the Loi du 19 décembre 2014 relative aux produits phytopharmaceutique.
As any other chemical product, PPP have to be classified and labelled according to CLP. However, besides the CLP requirements (Article 17 CLP), PPP have to be labelled with additional elements. These additional elements are defined in Commission Regulation (EU) 547/2011.
PPP specific label elements
In addition to the CLP label parts, the following elements are required for PPP (Annex I of Regulation (EU) 547/2011):
- General information
- Trade name/designation of the PPP;
- Name and address of the holder of the authorisation and the authorisation number of the PPP (also: if different, the name and address of the person responsible for the final packaging and labelling);
- Name and concentration of each active substance;
- Net quantity of PPP;
- Formulation batch number and production date;
- Information on first aid, e.g. an emergency phone number;
- If accompanied by a leaflet (see below), the sentence ‘Read accompanying instructions before use’;
- Type of action of the plant protection product (e.g. insecticide, growth regulator, herbicide, fungicide, etc.) and the mode of action;
- Type of preparation (e.g. wettable powder, emulsifiable concentrate, etc.);
- Authorised uses and any specific agricultural, plant health and environmental conditions under which the product may be used or shall not be used;
- Categories of users allowed to use the plant protection product (e.g. professional, amateur);
- Directions for and conditions of use and the dose rate including where appropriate the maximum dose per hectare per application and the maximum number of applications per year*;
- Where appropriate, the safety interval for each use between the last application and (either): sowing or planting of the crop to be protected / sowing or planting of succeeding crops / access by humans or animals / harvesting / use or consumption*;
- Details of possible phytotoxicity, varietal susceptibility, and any other direct or indirect adverse side effects on plants or products of plant origin together with the intervals to be observed between application and sowing or planting of the crop in question, or subsequent and adjacent crops*;
- Directions for appropriate conditions of storage and safe disposal*;
- Where necessary, the expiry date for normal conditions of storage*;
- Prohibition concerning the re-use of packaging;
- Any information required by the authorisation (in reference to REACH)*.
- (Safe) use information
- Standard phrases for special risks to human or animal health or to the environment: They complement the CLP Hazard (H) statements with the following subcategories:
o Special risks related to humans (RSh);
o Special risks related to the environment (RSe).
- Standard phrases for safety precautions: They complement the CLP Precautionary (P) statements with the following subcategories:
o Safety precautions for operators (SPo);
o Safety precautions related to the environment (SPe);
o Safety precautions related to good agricultural practice (SPa);
o Specific safety precautions for rodenticides (SPr).
Besides the specific standard phrases defined in Regulation (EU) 547/2011, Member States can define additional standard phrases.
The different label elements are shown below in a generic label:
* The amount of information on the label of a PPP can be quite substantial. Therefore, if the space available on the package is too small, the elements marked with an asterisk in the list above can be indicated on a separate leaflet accompanying the package.