July 2015 ECPA’s views on Private standards and certification schemes for crop value chains The crop protection industry fully supports the principles of sustainable agricultural production, including the responsible and efficient use of natural resources, using technological innovation to help farmers deliver profitable and high quality produce. We believe that only standards or certification schemes which support the responsible use of natural resources and technical tools in line with good practices and IPM principles are appropriate means of ensuring sustainable production methods and high quality produce. The setting of private standards and certification schemes which arbitrarily restrict or ban the use of legally authorised pesticides is inappropriate, counter-productive and runs contrary to the aims of sustainable and integrated crop production. Why are private standards and certification schemes inappropriate? Private (secondary) standards or certification schemes which either ban or restrict the use of certain legally authorised pesticides, restrict the number of active substances or operate below the legally authorised limits for pesticide residues are unnecessary in an already robust and risk-averse EU regulatory system. Before they can be authorised for EU use to protect our food against pests and diseases, pesticides must undergo and pass a range of stringent tests and assessments to comply with the high safety standards set under EU legislation. This regulatory process is obligatory and binding. Based on decades of scientific experience and relevant new developments, these tests and assessments look for, among other factors, effects on the environment (incl. plants, birds and mammals) and human health. In the case of pesticide residues in food, safety is rigorously assessed across a full range consumer groups and dietary habits. Firstly assessed by a Member State, then by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and finally agreed by all Member States, the EU’s legally binding framework ensures the highest protection of human health and the environment. Once the process is successfully completed, the pesticide in question is authorised and is deemed safe for commercial use when applied in accordance with Good Agricultural Practice, as defined in the terms of the authorisation. Establishing individual private standards or certification schemes undermines industry and public confidence in the existing science-based European approval process. Such an approach, based on the limitation or prohibition of a certain technology is producing distortive and potentially destructive effects. The setting of such individual private standards or certification schemes can: •
Endanger the production of a large variety of high quality fruits and vegetables.
•
Confuse consumers and create unjustified fears concerning the quality and safety of foods.
•
Undermine existing and generally accepted good practices, including Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which aim to optimise and safeguard crop production.
•
Create uncertainty as to which pesticides can be used by producers and consequently endanger the good functioning of the EU internal market.