Enforcement action taken against a horticultural retailer for illegal sale, supply and advertisement of unapproved pesticides

The Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) has recently taken enforcement action against a horticultural retailer in the North West of England, for the unlawful sale, supply and advertisement of pesticide products.

PSD officials visited the premises of the horticultural retailer, and discovered a number of pesticide products which were no longer approved. Approval for many of these products had expired a number of years previously. Also discovered were agricultural products for which neither the owner, nor any of the employees had the necessary safety training to sell the products to the end user. The Company were also advertising these products in their mail order catalogue and on their official website.

After consultation with PSD and in association with local Environmental Health officials, the horticultural retailer is now fully compliant with the requirements of UK pesticides legislation. The retailer has safely disposed of the illegal pesticides and the agricultural products, and no further enforcement action will be taken against the company in this matter.

This case has highlighted a number of legal issues of importance to Approval Holders, Marketing Companies and their agents;

• Approval Holders and Marketing Companies should inform all their agents (including all retailers of their products) when a pesticide product has been commercially withdrawn or revoked by PSD. Any use up dates must be communicated to retailers.
• Retailers should also take responsibility to keep up to date with revocations and commercial withdrawals of pesticides.
• Regular updates are available free of charge from the PSD website at: https://secure.pesticides.gov.uk/pestreg/PMSearch.asp. Retailers should return all un-sold products to the Approval Holder or Marketing Company after the approval dates for sale and supply have expired.
• Distributors of pesticide products must be aware of their legal responsibilities including what certification is required to store, sell and supply agricultural pesticides. Guidance is available in the ‘ Code of Practice for Suppliers of Pesticides to Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry'

PSD Information Services (Tel: 01904 455775) or the PSD website can help retailers to understand their legal responsibilities and on whether a pesticide product is still approved. Failure to comply with the legislation could lead to enforcement action and/or prosecution.

Notes to editors

1. The Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) is an Executive Agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra ). One of our aims is to ensure the safe use of pesticides and detergents for people and the environment. Our responsibilities include providing controls on pesticides used in agriculture, horticulture and in the garden; and monitoring the use of pesticides and take enforcement action against illegal use.

2. All pesticides must be approved before they can be advertised, sold, supplied, stored or used in Great Britain. The governing legislation is the Control of Pesticide Regulations 1986 (COPR, as amended) for approvals made under national legislation and the Plant Protection Products Regulations 2005 (PPPR) for products approved under European Directive 91/414.

• The Code of Practice for Suppliers of Pesticides to Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry:
• sets out both what is required by law and the best practice for commercial suppliers of pesticides;
• printed copies of the Code are available from Defra Publications, Admail 6000, London, SW1A 2XX;
• an electronic copy of the Code is available to download free from the PSD's website at www.pesticides.gov.uk/uploadedfiles/Web_Assets/PSD/yellow_code.pdf
• By law, everyone who sells pesticides for agricultural use must have a certificate of competence or be working under the direct supervision of someone with a certificate of competence.
• BASIS standards and certification are recognised under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986; the BASIS Storekeeper and Field Sales and Technical Staff certificates are required, by law, by all those involved in the storage, sale and supply of pesticides.
• Basis (Registration) Ltd can be contacted at 34 St John Street, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, DE6 1GH; telephone 01335 343945; website: www.basis-reg.com/index2.asp

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