The FAO Code of Conduct about

The FAO Code of Conduct represents a global standard for pesticide management and therefore contains various articles dealing with the handling of pesticides in general and more specifically, as listed below:
Pesticide management
Pesticide production,
Pesticide storage, Support
Pesticide use, Support
Post-registration surveillance, Support

The FAO Code of Conduct about "pesticide management"

3.1

Governments have the overall responsibility to regulate the availability, distribution and use of pesticides in their countries and should ensure the allocation of adequate resources for this mandate.

3.3

Governments of pesticide exporting countries should, to the extent possible:

3.3.1

provide technical assistance to other countries, especially those lacking technical expertise in the assessment of the relevant data on pesticides;

3.4

Pesticide industry and traders should observe the following practices in pesticide management, especially in countries without legislation or means of implementing regulations:

3.4.1

supply only pesticides of adequate quality, packaged and labelled as appropriate for each specific market;

3.4.4

provide, with each package of pesticide, information and instructions in a form and language adequate to ensure effective use and reduce risks during handling;

3.4.6

retain an active interest in following their products to the end-user, keeping track of major uses and the occurrence of any problems arising from the use of their products, as a basis for determining the need for changes in labelling, directions for use, packaging, formulation or product availability.

3.5

Pesticides whose handling and application require the use of personal protective equipment that is uncomfortable, expensive or not readily available should be avoided, especially in the case of small-scale users in tropical climates. Preference should be given to pesticides that require inexpensive personal protective and application equipment and to procedures appropriate to the conditions under which the pesticides are to be handled and used.

3.10

Governments and the application equipment industry should develop and promote the use of pesticide application methods and equipment that pose low risks to human health and the environment and that are more efficient and cost-effective, and should conduct ongoing practical training in such activities.

5.1

Governments should:

5.1.9

utilize all possible means for collecting reliable data, maintaining statistics on environmental contamination and reporting specific incidents related to pesticides;

5.2

Even where a control scheme is in operation, pesticide industry should:

5.2.3

make every reasonable effort to reduce risks posed by pesticides by:

5.2.3.3

developing application methods and equipment that minimize exposure to pesticides;

5.3

Government and industry should cooperate in further reducing risks by:

5.3.1

promoting the use of proper and affordable personal protective equipment;

6.1

Governments should:

6.1.1

introduce the necessary legislation for the regulation of pesticides and make provisions for its effective enforcement, including the establishment of appropriate educational, advisory, extension and health-care services, using FAO guidelines as far as possible. In so doing, they should take full account of local needs, social and economic conditions, levels of literacy, climatic conditions and availability of appropriate pesticide application and personal protective equipment;

6.1.8

collect and record data on the import, export, manufacture, formulation, quality, quantity and use of pesticides in order to assess the extent of any possible effects on human health or the environment, and to follow trends in pesticide use for economic and other purposes;

6.2

Pesticide industry should

6.2.6

when problems occur, voluntarily take corrective action and, when requested by governments, help find solutions to difficulties;

6.3

Technical assistance funding agencies, development banks and bilateral agencies should be encouraged to give high priority to requests for assistance from developing countries which do not yet have the facilities and expertise for pesticide management and control systems.

7.1

Responsible authorities should give special attention to drafting rules and regulations on the availability of pesticides. These should be compatible with existing levels of user training and expertise. The parameters on which such decisions on availability are based vary widely and must be left to the discretion of each government.

7.3

Two methods of restricting availability can be exercised by the responsible authority: not registering a product or, as a condition of registration, restricting the availability to certain groups of users in accordance with a national assessment of the hazards involved in the use of the product.

7.4

Governments and industry should ensure that all pesticides made available to the general public are packaged and labelled in a manner which is consistent with the FAO guidelines on packaging and labelling and with appropriate national regulations.

8.2

Pesticide industry should:

8.2.5

recognize that a pesticide may need to be recalled by a manufacturer and distributor when its use, as recommended, represents an unacceptable risk to human and animal health or the environment, and act accordingly;

11.2

Pesticide industry should ensure that:

11.2.2

advertisements do not contain any statement or visual presentation which, directly or by implication, omission, ambiguity or exaggerated claim, is likely to mislead the buyer, in particular with regard to the "safety" of the product, its nature, composition or suitability for use, official recognition or approval;

11.2.5

advertising does not encourage uses other than those specified on the approved label;

(11.2.14

technical literature provides adequate information on correct practices, including the observance of recommended application rates, frequency of applications and pre-harvest intervals;)

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Pesticide production

5.5

In establishing production facilities of a suitable standard in developing countries, manufacturers and governments should cooperate to:

5.5.1

adopt engineering standards and operating practices appropriate to the nature of the manufacturing operations and the hazards involved, and ensure the availability of appropriate protective equipment;

5.5.2

take all necessary precautions to protect workers, bystanders, surrounding communities and the environment;

5.5.3

ensure the proper sitting of manufacturing and formulating plants and adequately control wastes and effluents;

5.5.4

maintain quality-assurance procedures to ensure compliance with the relevant standards of purity, performance, stability and safety.

8.2

Pesticide industry should:

8.2.2

endeavour to ensure that pesticides manufactured for export are subject to the same quality requirements and standards as those applied to comparable domestic products;

8.2.3

ensure that pesticides manufactured or formulated by a subsidiary company meet appropriate quality requirements and standards. These should be consistent with the requirements of the host country and of the parent company;

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Pesticide storage

5.1

Governments should:

5.1.8

ensure, with the cooperation of pesticide industry, that where pesticides are available through outlets which also deal in food, clothing, medicines or other products for consumption or topical application, they are physically segregated from other merchandise to prevent contamination and/or mistaken identity. Where appropriate, they should be clearly marked as hazardous materials. Every effort should be made to publicize the dangers of storing foodstuffs and pesticides together;

5.2

Even where a control scheme is in operation, pesticide industry should:

5.2.3

make every reasonable effort to reduce risks posed by pesticides by:

5.2.3.4

using returnable and refillable containers where effective container collection systems are in place;

5.2.3.5

using containers that are not attractive for subsequent reuse and promoting programmes to discourage their reuse, where effective container collection systems are not in place;

5.2.3.6

using containers that are not attractive to or easily opened by children, particularly for domestic use products;

5.3

Government and industry should cooperate in further reducing risks by:

5.3.2

making provisions for safe storage of pesticides at both warehouse and farm level;

10.2

Industry should use labels that:

10.2.4

include, in the appropriate language or languages, a warning against the reuse of containers and instructions for the safe disposal or decontamination of used containers;

10.2.6

clearly show the release date (month and year) of the lot or batch and contain relevant information on the storage stability of the product.

10.3

Pesticide industry, in cooperation with government, should ensure that:

10.3.1

packaging, storage and disposal of pesticides conform in principle to the relevant FAO, UNEP, WHO guidelines or regulations or to other international guidelines, where applicable;

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Post registration surveillance

1.7

The standards of conduct set forth in this Code:

1.7.5

adopt the "life-cycle" concept to address all major aspects related to the development, regulation, production, management, packaging, labelling, distribution, handling, application, use and control, including post registration activities and disposal of all types of pesticides, including used pesticide containers;

3.4

Pesticide industry and traders should observe the following practices in pesticide management, especially in countries without legislation or means of implementing regulations:

3.4.6

retain an active interest in following their products to the end-user, keeping track of major uses and the occurrence of any problems arising from the use of their products, as a basis for determining the need for changes in labelling, directions for use, packaging, formulation or product availability.

4.1

Pesticide industry should:

4.1.5

provide, at the request of a country, methods for the analysis of any active ingredient or formulation that they manufacture, and provide the necessary analytical standards;

4.1.7

conduct residue trials prior to marketing, at least in accordance with Codex Alimentarius and FAO guidelines on good analytical practice and on crop residue data in order to provide a basis for establishing appropriate maximum residue limits.

4.2

Each country should possess or have access to facilities to verify and exercise control over the quality of pesticides offered for sale or export, to establish the quantity of the active ingredient or ingredients and the suitability of their formulation, according to FAO or WHO specifications, when available.

4.3

International organizations and other interested bodies should, within available resources, consider assisting in the establishment of analytical laboratories, or strengthening existing laboratories, in pesticide importing countries, either on a national or a regional basis. These laboratories should adhere to sound scientific procedures and guidelines for good laboratory practice, should possess the necessary expertise and should have adequate analytical equipment and supplies of certified analytical standards, solvents, reagents and appropriate, up-to-date analytical methods.

4.5

Pesticide industry and governments should collaborate in post-registration surveillance or conducting monitoring studies to determine the fate of pesticides and their health and environmental effects under field conditions.

5.1

Governments should:

5.1.1

implement a pesticide registration and control system along the lines set out in Article 6;

5.1.2

periodically review the pesticides marketed in their country, their acceptable uses and their availability to each sector of the public, and conduct special reviews when indicated by scientific evidence;

5.1.3

carry out health surveillance programmes of those who are occupationally exposed to pesticides and investigate, as well as document, poisoning cases;

5.1.9

utilize all possible means for collecting reliable data, maintaining statistics on environmental contamination and reporting specific incidents related to pesticides;

5.1.10

implement a programme to monitor pesticide residues in food and the environment.

5.2

Even where a control scheme is in operation, pesticide industry should:

5.2.1

cooperate in the periodic reassessment of the pesticides which are marketed;

5.2.4

halt sale and recall products when handling or use pose an unacceptable risk under any use directions or restrictions.

6.1

Governments should:

6.1.2

strive to establish pesticide registration schemes and infrastructures under which products can be registered prior to domestic use and ensure that each pesticide product is registered before it can be made available for use;

6.1.3

conduct risk evaluations and make risk management decisions based on all available data or information, as part of the registration process;

6.1.5

promote the advantages of, and cooperate with other governments in, the establishment of harmonized (regionally or by groups of countries) pesticide registration requirements, procedures and evaluation criteria, taking into account appropriate, internationally agreed technical guidelines and standards, and where possible incorporate these standards into national or regional legislation;

6.1.6

establish a re-registration procedure to ensure the periodic review of pesticides, thus ensuring that prompt and effective measures can be taken if new information or data on the performance or risks indicate that regulatory action is needed;

6.2

Pesticide industry should:

6.2.3

ensure that the active ingredient and other ingredients of pesticide products being marketed correspond in identity, quality, purity and composition to the substances tested, evaluated and cleared for toxicological and environmental acceptability;

6.2.5

verify the quality and purity of pesticides offered for sale;

6.2.6

when problems occur, voluntarily take corrective action and, when requested by governments, help find solutions to difficulties;

8.2

Pesticide industry should:

8.2.5

recognize that a pesticide may need to be recalled by a manufacturer and distributor when its use, as recommended, represents an unacceptable risk to human and animal health or the environment, and act accordingly;

9.1

Governments should:

9.1.2

facilitate the exchange of information between regulatory authorities to strengthen cooperative efforts. The information to be exchanged should include:

9.1.2.1

actions to ban or severely restrict a pesticide in order to protect human health or the environment, and additional information upon request;