How will BPR changes affect Livestock products?

Historically there has been very little regulation of biocides in the UK. However, the Biocidal Products Regulation, which superseded the Directive several years ago, was introduced by the EU to change this situation. Until recently the Regulation had resulted in minimal visible change in the UK or other European markets but now that the process is well advanced, changes are starting to become noticeable at all levels. The process will affect, amongst others, disinfectants, and as this is a major part of the agricultural sector, the changes to the market will be far reaching.

The main visible changes will be the disappearance of some products and the restriction / removal of certain of the uses for products on their labels, due to the costs involved. The process of authorisation is complex and expensive; therefore products with poor turnover or limited markets, that can be substituted, will be dropped, as gaining EU approval for each active ingredient is costing around 2 million Euros for registration.

The iodine based products are some of the first to be affected September 2015 and then the other ranges will be submitted over the next 2-3 years. The main change at the product level will be the distinction between Professional and Amateur use. Most of our livestock range will be professional use only - the distinction being that users are expected to be trained and competent and are expected to use the appropriate PPE.

Our existing labels will still be in use until authorisation is achieved, however each claim made on the label has to be supported by data. For example - a product sold as a surface disinfectant must have been tested using the appropriate European surface test methods. This adds extra expense and complexity to the data preparation and as above, those uses that are deemed not to be profitable or that cannot be easily supported with data will no longer appear on the label.

The entire process will be ongoing for the next 3-5 years and will cost Evans Vanodine hundreds of thousands of Pounds. The active substance manufacturers have also spent millions of Euros having their chemicals approved. However, at the end of all this we will have a well regulated market and it should also lead to the removal of some of the more extreme claims made by some companies on product labels in the market place.