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AgVetLink June 2004: Page 9

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Standards

Standard for Fertiliser Group of Agricultural Compounds

The ACVM Group has developed a draft standard for the fertiliser group of agricultural compounds. This group includes:

• fertilisers and fertiliser additives derived from chemical, mineral, organic or biological sources; and

• soil conditioners derived from soil components or organic material.

The standard makes reference to products claimed to be fertilisers that are raw or composted organic wastes. Such products are considered to be wastes unless they have been processed to the point that they have a consistent formulation and potential contaminants are adequately controlled. While these waste products are exempt from registration under the ACVM Act, it is expected that their use will continue to be regulated under the Resource Management Act 1991.

The standard includes definitions and descriptions of the kinds of products covered and specifications for their manufacture, importation, sale and use.

The standard also recognises that, for this group of agricultural compounds, there is a significant cottage industry in fertiliser and soil conditioner products as well as an established commercial fertiliser industry.

The draft is identified as version 2. The first version was used in limited consultation with specific parties to reach a point of development that could be opened up to general public consultation. Therefore, this draft should be considered the first opportunity for public comment. The ACVM Group intends to repeat the process for subsequent drafts until the standard is appropriate and practical.

Standard for Vertebrate Toxic Agents

Submissions on a previous draft of the above standard were presented in the April 2004 Agvetlink. This standard has now been revised.

Drafts of the two standards are available on the website (www.nzfsa.govt.nz/acvm). Comments should be sent by 16 July 2004 to: 
Christopher Boland 
Programme Manager (Technical Policy) 
ACVM Group 
PO Box 2835, 
WELLINGTON 
Email: christopher.boland@nzfsa.govt.nz

 

Generally Recognised as Safe (GRAS)

Procedure

Over the past year, the ACVM Group has re-vamped the GRAS procedure in order to make the process more efficient and more effective. The new procedure has halved the time it takes for an application ‘put on our doorstep’ to be considered GRAS (for approved substances).

In order to shorten the GRAS process further, all communication from this point, including the expert consultation and public consultation, will occur via electronic mail. The address for all correspondence will be: toxassessor@nzfsa.govt.nz .

Further to this, a new cover sheet has been created to clarify exactly what is required for an application. The new cover sheet template for all GRAS applications can be found on our website ( http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/acvm/topics/registration/gras.htm ).

Experts meeting

A face-to-face meeting of the GRAS experts to review the current system, discuss potential changes to the ACVM Act and see if there are ways to improve the process generally is being organised.

 

Draft Standard for Use of Human Medicines, Compounded Products and Special Use Imported Products

There is a draft standard out for targeted consultation covering the use of human medicines, specially compounded medicines and ‘special use’ imported products by veterinarians (done under the ‘discretionary use’ exemption regulations under the ACVM Act). Aspects of the proposed standard were discussed with veterinarians in the recent workshops as a recent ‘slice of life’ audit has highlighted the need for greater clarity and for education in this area.

 

Possible changes to fees

MAF Quarantine Services (Border Control), who monitor compliance on behalf of the ACVM Group, have raised their fees (under the Biosecurity Act 1993) from $57.38/hr to $72.30/hr. The new fees are higher than allowed in the ACVM Fees Regulations, so it is likely that ACVM fees will be updated to reflect the changes in the near future.