Adjuvants according to § 42 of the Plant Protection Act
- Definition
- Provisions concerning the placing on the market of adjuvants
- Information on approved adjuvants
- The approval procedure
Definition
Adjuvants are defined in Regulation (EC-European Commission) No 1107/2009 Article 2 (3) d as substances or preparations which comprise co-formulants or preparations with one or more co-formulant(s) in the form in which they are delivered to the user and placed on the market with the purpose of being mixed by the user with a plant protection product in order to increase its impact or other pesticidal properties. Its impact is not to be interpreted in the sense of that of a synergist. Adjuvants are products which are applied as a tank mix with plant protection products and which improve, for example, wetting or the adhesion of plant protection products, or which prevent foaming.
Provisions concerning the placing on the market of adjuvants
Adjuvants may only be placed on the market if they fulfil the following requirements:
- They must be approved by the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) according to § 42 of the Plant Protection Act.
- They must be labelled according to the provisions of § 43 of the Plant Protection Act. Legislation on hazardous substances may require additional labelling.
- They must not have any harmful effects when used correctly and for their intended purpose, particularly as far as human and animal health, groundwater and the environment are concerned.
Information on approved adjuvants
The approval of adjuvants is announced by the BVL in the Federal Gazette. The BVL publishes a monthly updated overview of adjuvants. It contains both the adjuvants currently approved in accordance with § 42 of the Plant Protection Act and a list of those adjuvants that were listed before 14 February 2012 and that were only marketable until 14 February 2022. For these, the grace period for use and storage also ended on 14 February 2022 (cf. § 74(10) of the Plant Protection Act).
The approval procedure
Applications for approval according to § 42 of the Plant Protection Act must be submitted to the BVL.
