Fertilizer Act and Composts

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Fertilizer Act and Composts

• Presented to
• The Compost Council of Canada
• Composting Matters Conference
• March 25, 2003 Guelph, Ontario
• by Wendell Bomberry
• Canadian Food Inspection Agency
• Fertilizer Program, Ontario

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Overview

• 1. What is the CFIA?
• 2. Federal Fertilizers Program
• 3. Federal Fertilizers Act
• 4. Other regulatory jurisdictions
• that may affect Compost
• 5. Compost - How regulated?
• 6. Standards for - Efficacy
• - Safety
• - Labelling
• 7. Ongoing Challenges

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Canadian Food Inspection Agency

• Created in 1997
• Includes functions/units from Health Canada,
  Fisheries and Oceans, Agriculture Agri-Food
  Canada (AAFC)
• Reports to Parliament via the Minister of AAFC
• All regulatory functions from AAFC are now
  covered by the CFIA
• CFIA administers/enforces 14 Acts, including the
  Fertilizers Act

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How the CFIA Fertilizer Program works

• 3 important parts that work together
• Programs
• Operations
• Laboratories

Programs
Laboratories
Operations
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How the CFIA Fertilizer Program works

• Programs Fertilizer Core Team
• program design and policy
• product registration, label review, etc.
• Operations Inspectors
• monitoring (sampling, inspection)
• compliance and enforcement
• Laboratories Laboratory Services
• analysis of samples
• method development
• (lab accreditation with Standards Council)

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• Program Specialists by Area
• Atlantic Alan Hamilton (Moncton)
• [phone]
• Quebec Melanie Gauthier (Montreal)
• [phone]
• Ontario Wendell Bomberry (Guelph)
• [phone]
• West Chris Reynolds (New Westminster)
• [phone]

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Federal Fertilizers Act

• Two types of products are regulated
• Fertilizer any substance or mixture of
  substances, containing nitrogen, phosphorus,
  potassium or other plant food, manufactured, sold
  or represented for use as a plant nutrient
• Supplement any substance or mixture of
  substances, other than a fertilizer, that is
  manufactured, sold or represented for use in the
  improvement of the physical condition of soils or
  to aid plant growth
• or crop yields

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Federal Fertilizers Act (contd)

• Prohibits the importation or sale of fertilizers
  and supplements, unless those products
• are registered as prescribed,
• conform to prescribed standards,
• are packaged and labelled as prescribed
• Prohibits the sale of any fertilizer or
  supplement that contains destructive ingredients
  or properties harmful to plant growth

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Federal Fertilizers Act (contd)

• Import Bring into Canada
• Sell
• Fertilizer Act Definition
• sell includes sell, offer for sale, expose for
  sale, have in posession for sale and distribute

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Federal Fertilizers Act (contd)

• Fertilizers and supplements that are imported or
  sold are required to be
• safe for
• plants,
• animals,
• humans (food, worker/bystander), and
• the environment
• efficacious
• properly labelled

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Federal Fertilizers Act (contd)

• Covers fertilizer and supplement PRODUCTS that
  are imported or sold (including the associated
  label)
• BUT
• NOT process of production
• NOT transportation
• NOT storage
• NOT use
• NOT disposal
• NOT resulting environmental quality

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Federal - Provincial jurisdictionRe
Nutrients/Fertilizers

• Environment
• federally substances
• provincially activities/projects
• Agriculture
• federally products
• provincially usage

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Requirements under other legislation

• A person must comply with all applicable
  requirements, whether federal, provincial or
  municipal
• Other legislation that may ALSO apply to compost
• provincial environment acts
• municipal bylaws
• federal Consumer Packaging and Labelling
• Act (packaged potting media or mulch)

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Composts - How regulated?

• May fit definition of either a fertilizer or
  supplement depending on claims used to sell
• ie. Garden Blend Compost 3-2-1 has fertilizer
  claims
• Fall leaf Compost is a supplement

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Fertilizers Act and Regulations

• Fertilizer means any substance or mixture of
  substances, containing nitrogen, phosphorus,
  potassium or other plant food, manufactured, sold
  or represented for use as a plant nutrient
• agricultural and lawn garden fertilizers
  (including weed feed) containing
• - nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium
• - calcium, magnesium and sulphur
• - boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and
  zinc

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Fertilizers Act and Regulations

• Supplement means any substance or mixture of
  substances, other than a fertilizer, that is
  manufactured, sold or represented for use in the
  improvement of the physical condition of soils or
  to aid plant growth or crop yields
• Examples are limestone, legume inoculants,
  wetting agents, plant growth regulators, compost
  and processed sewage

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Compost under Fertilizers Act

• Compost is listed in Schedule II
• exempt from registration
• must meet the composition and naming designation
  in Schedule II
• Compost A solid mature product resulting from
  composting, which is a managed process of
  bio-oxidation of a solid heterogeneous organic
  substrate, including a thermophilic phase. This
  product may be designated as to kind. (Item 5.1,
  Schedule II)

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Compost under Fertilizers Act

• Composted manure (Specify grade) Compost
  produced using the organic matter fraction of the
  excreta of animals or birds, with or without
  litter. The compost may use as little as 60
  manure and as much as 40 of a carbon source, if
  the ratio reflects the need for a carbon source
  when composting the manure, and if the carbon
  source includes only materials that may be used
  as litter, such as straw, hay, bark, sawdust,
  wood chips, shavings, leaves, grass, wood chunks
  (such as branches and leaves), tree clippings and
  plant residues but not including treated wood or
  materials that have been chemically or
  biologically contaminated. (Item 1.18, Schedule
  II)

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In Schedule II

• If the definition is not met, a new name needs
  to be approved. New technologies are used to
  process, handle and sell etc. As a result, most
  by-products are being looked at on a case by case
  basis.

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• Compost is regulated under the Fertilizer Act and
  Regulations against the efficacy, safety and
  labelling standards.
• In general compost contains plant nutrients, will
  aid plant growth and will improve condition of
  the soil.
• They contain various low levels of NPK, and
  various levels of lesser plant nutrients.
• Most regulatory efforts are aimed at product
  safety and labelling.

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Compost Safety

• Heavy metals
• Standards are described in T-4-93 Standards for
  metals in fertilizers and supplements
• listed as Category B under CCME guidelines
• metal levels in the compost plus application rate
  on label used to assess compliance

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Compost Safety

• Heavy metals
• Additional metal standards under review
• Interim standards for
• Copper (Cu) - 150 kg/ha
• Chromium (Cr) - 210 kg/ha
• consultation prior to adoption

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Compost Safety

• Pathogens
• Standard is freedom from pathogenic organisms
• Salmonella and Faecal Coliform are used as
  compliance indicators
• Salmonella (non-detectable)
• Faecal Coliform (lt1000 per gram of product)

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Compost Safety

• Other Safety Issues
• Dioxin and Furan standards are under development
• consultation prior to adoption

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Labelling

• Under the Fertilizers Act, a label is
• any legend, word, mark, symbol or design,
  applied or attached to, included in, belonging to
  or accompanying any fertilizer, supplement or
  package
• The label identifies the product and transfers
  information from seller to buyer (to make
  purchasing decision)
• what the product is, what it does, how
• to use it

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Compost Labelling

• Information required on a compost label
• Name of product
• Grade (if making nutrient claims)
• Guaranteed Analysis
• Weight (in grams or kilograms)
• Directions for Use
• Name and Address of Packager/Manufacturer
• must appear on the main panel of the compost
  label

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Compost Labelling

• Name and Grade
• Garden Blend Compost 3-2-1
• Guaranteed Minimum Analysis
• Total Nitrogen ( N ) 3
• Available Phosphoric Acid ( P205 ) 2
• Soluble Potash ( K20 ) 1
• Organic Matter 30
• Maximum Moisture 50

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Compost Labelling

• Directions for Use must indicate
• the rate, frequency and time of application
• dilution rate (if applicable)
• the type of plants/crops on which the product is
  intended to be used
• if nutrient application is less than required by
  the plant, a statement such as the following is
  required "This product should be used as part of
  a complete fertilizer program that relates to the
  fertility level of the soil

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Compost Labelling

• For compost sold in bulk, the required label
  information must be identified on the shipping
  bill or on a statement accompanying the shipment.
• A grade and nutrient guarantees are permitted for
  composts.
• A grade and nutrient guarantees are required when
  composts contain manure or sewage as a feedstock.

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Ongoing Challenges

• Public Awareness of Environment
• Push to recycle more
• Variable Inputs - Variable End Product
• Instant Communication
• Better Testing Methods

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Fertilizer Program Information Sources

• CFIA website www.inspection.gc.ca
• Guidelines to the Fertilizers Act and Regulations
• Trade Memos
• T-4-93 Standards for metals in fertilizers and
  supplements
• T-4-106 Organic fertilizers under the Fertilizers
  Act