Plant protection products ordinance to be completely revised
Published: Monday, Dec 18th 2023, 10:50
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The Plant Protection Products Ordinance (PPPO) is being completely revised. The aim is to optimize the procedure for the approval of plant protection products and bring it into line with the EU. In future, the ordinance will also define how environmental protection organizations can participate in the approval process.
The Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) opened a corresponding consultation on the amendments on Monday. The PPPO regulates how plant protection products are authorized, placed on the market, used and controlled in Switzerland.
The focus of the total revision is on optimizing the approval procedure. The Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) announced on Monday that Switzerland's authorization procedure is to be aligned with that of the EU.
Active ingredients of plant protection products should be considered approved in Germany if they are approved in the EU. Exceptions remain possible. It should be easier to approve a plant protection product if an identical product has been approved in an EU member state.
Organizations such as environmental protection associations can already participate in the approval process for plant protection products. This so-called party notification procedure is laid down in the Agriculture Act. The PPPO now contains detailed provisions on this. Among other things, they define the deadline within which the organizations can submit their comments.
The completely revised ordinance also includes regulations on a new information system. Among other things, it should be possible to submit and process authorization applications digitally in future.
The revision is also intended to improve cost recovery. The Plant Protection Products Authorization Office at the FSVO charges applicants for the costs incurred by the Federal Administration for the authorization. However, the fees do not yet cover the processing costs. The cost recovery rate is currently less than two percent. In future, it should be around 40 percent.
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