What is the purpose of a product label?
The label must provide the consumer with information about the product being purchased. It is generally a vehicle of communication between the function, the content, the manufacturing company, and the end consumer. It is also essential for enhancing the product and differentiating it from the competition.
The information to be included on the label of each product type is regulated by national and European laws, which aim to ensure correct information. The information communicated must be accurate and transparent, must not mislead the buyer, must not attribute effects or properties to the product that it does not possess, and must not suggest that the product has special characteristics when all similar products possess identical ones.
Labeling of Plant Protection Products
The labeling of plant protection products is primarily regulated by Chapter VII of Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market, and the subsequent Regulation (EU) No. 547/2011, which implements Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and the Council regarding labeling requirements for plant protection products.
The label must comply with the classification, labeling, and packaging requirements of Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 (CLP) and must include a series of mandatory information, including:
- Trade name, function, and product type;
- Authorization holder and authorization number;
- Identity of the active substance(s) and the amount contained;
- Batch number and production date;
- First aid information;
- Any specific risks and precautions for human health, animal health, or the environment;
- Instructions for use;
- Any indications required at the time of product authorization;
- The category of users for whom the product is intended (professional or amateur use).
Regulation (EU) No. 547/2011 also introduces a series of standard phrases regarding specific risks and precautions to be taken for human health, animal health, or the environment, which must be included on the label.
Plant Protection Products for Professional and Non-Professional Use
The provisions mentioned above apply both to trained users of plant protection products (through obtaining the so-called “license”) and to amateur users, meaning consumers who are not trained to use the product safely and without risks resulting from incorrect handling or misuse.
The final label that will accompany the plant protection product placed on the market is approved by the Ministry through a specific authorization measure, following a thorough assessment by the Advisory Section for Plant Protection Products, and is published in the plant protection products database.
Particular attention is given to products for non-professional use, for which the Directorate-General for Food Hygiene, Safety, and Nutrition has developed a label model to be submitted along with the application for review or new authorization of such products, to ensure a homogeneous and complete implementation of national and European labeling provisions.
Ministerial Decrees of January 22, 2018, and November 20, 2021, define specific elements of the labeling for products intended for amateur use, with the aim of simplifying the expression of dosage, the methods of dose withdrawal, and the preparation of the mixture, taking into account the size of the treated areas and the equipment used at the non-professional level, possibly with the aid of pictograms. It is also required that the labels of products for non-professional use include warnings and precautionary statements intended to raise user awareness of the risks associated with home storage and the use of plant protection products, and to ensure proper behavior that minimizes the risk of dangerous exposure to health and the surrounding environment.
It is emphasized that the aforementioned national provisions do not replace but rather supplement the provisions already in force regarding the labeling of plant protection products.
The label model can be consulted on the Ministry of Health’s website, along with the supporting documentation produced:
Ministry of Health – Plant Protection Products
