State of play of the Fertilising Products Regulation and its future development
State of play of the Fertilising Products Regulation and its future development
During the 2023 Dublin FPR Symposium on the 28th of September, Dr Theodora Nikolakopoulou, Policy Officer for Fertilising Products, DG GROW, spoke about the state of play of the Fertilising Products Regulation (EU) 2019/2009 (the FPR) and its future developments. Dr Theodora started the presentation by reviewing briefly the most important concepts in the FPR such as Product Function Categories (PFCs) and Component Material Categories (CMCs). These categories are the basis of the new FPR, standardizing all the functions allowed withing the legal CE mark and the specific requirements for each PFC. Regarding the CMCs, she emphasized which materials are allowed as components and highlighted that in 7 of the 15 CMC categories recovered materials are allowed as the EU is trying to foster the circular economy as much as possible.
On the other hand, Dr Theodora also mentioned that the derived products from animal by-products (ABPs) of the CMC 10 may be incorporated in an EU fertilizing product as long as the end point has been determined and reached. These endpoints are being decided by a specialized commission and the result to unlock the CMC 10 potential will be available in the coming months.
In addition, there is a proposal for a 2nd amendment to the current standardization request that would cover the expected delays in the delivery of standards and would add deliverables relevant to the determination of dry matter of inorganic fertilizers, on testing methods for parameters relevant to new provisions and changing terminology involving inhibiting compounds.
To conclude, Dr Theodora talked about the future of the FPR and its further development. The inclusion of new materials, new processes, and new microorganisms (there are only 4 currently included) will be at the center of the study. The study will have two parts, the first containing the new materials and new processes for all CMCs and the second focusing only on new microorganisms and new processes for CMC 7. To sum up, final reports of biodegradability criteria for polymers and technical documentation are under assessment and a webinar on the 17th of October will allow consultation with MSs.
If you missed the FPR Symposium, a copy of all the presentations is available on the publications section of the Kerona website https://kerona.ie/product/fpr-symposium-presentations/
If you need assistance with registration of fertiliser products in the EU, please do not hesitate to contact the experts at Kerona info@kerona.ie