Experience with CE Marking of Plant Biostimulants under the FPR
Experience with CE Marking of Plant Biostimulants under the FPR
Dr Ildikó Varga and Júlia Ferenczi, experts in plant biostimulants at CerTrust Notified Body 2806, spoke at the recent Dublin FPR Symposium, sharing their experience with CE Marking of plant biostimulants under the Fertilising Products Regulation (EU) 2019/2009 (the FPR).
There are some borderline cases between the FPR and the Plant Protection Products Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009, where products are not easily classifiable (i.e. Cu) and Ildikó gave us the keys for these borderline products. Ildikó explained the definition of plant biostimulants as those products capable of stimulating plant nutrition processes independently of the product’s nutrient content with specific stimulating effects complying with the FPR and fulfilling the requirements of PFC 6.
To comply with the requirements for a biostimulant product registration, all statements on the label shall relate to verifiable factors, hence, the submitted data should be compliant with the requirements of Technical Specifications and appropriate test designs must be selected, considering that a minimum number of trials are needed.
In the special case of a fertilising product blend (PFC 7), efficacy trials are needed to demonstrate whether the efficacy of a single product, which is a functional blend (PFC 7) having at least a biostimulant function (PFC 6) besides any other function (PFC 1 to PFC 5), is not due solely to the plant biostimulant nutrient content. The same applies for a real product blend which consists of at least a plant biostimulant (PFC 6) and another EU fertiliser (PFC 1 to PFC 5).
Finally, Ildikó pointed out very useful links and tips on labelling and conformity assessment procedures. It is important to consider how the claims should be indicated, being rigorous on the type of stress, name of the nutrient, or name of the agronomical marker, avoiding being too unspecific.
A copy of the slides of the symposium is available on our website under https://kerona.ie/product/fpr-symposium-presentations/
If you need regulatory support regarding fertilisers and plant biostimulants, please contact Kerona Scientific at info@kerona.ie or call our office on +353 1 849 5284.