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Specified Risk Materials – Requirements for fertilizers and supplements

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Certain cattle tissues capable of transmitting BSE , known as specified risk material (SRM), are banned from all animal feeds, pet foods and fertilizers. There are also requirements for manufacturers and retailers of fertilizers and supplements (products other than nutrients that benefit plant growth or soil structure).

What are SRM?

SRM are defined as:

Requirements for all fertilizers and supplements

SRM in any form cannot be used in fertilizers or supplements.

Every package of fertilizer or supplement must have a lot number printed on the label. This is a new requirement for fertilizers, but was already required for supplements. Customer-formula fertilizers are exempt from this requirement.

Requirements for fertilizers and supplements containing prohibited material

Fertilizers and supplements containing certain animal proteins known as prohibited material (described in the Health of Animals Act) must be appropriately labelled, recorded and controlled. Prohibited material includes products derived from most mammalian proteins, including meat and bone meal.

The following material is not prohibited:

Labelling

Labels for fertilizers and supplements containing prohibited material must include precautionary statements, in both English and French, indicating that:

According to the Fertilizers Act, if part of the product label is in both English and French, the entire product label must be in both official languages.

Recall procedures

Recall procedures must be established by anyone who manufactures, imports, sells, or distributes a fertilizer or supplement containing prohibited material.

Record keeping

Records of manufacture, distribution, importation and sale* of fertilizers and supplements containing prohibited material must be kept for 10 years.

Manufacturers – records of manufacture of fertilizer and supplements containing prohibited material must include the following information:

Distributors and importers – records for the importation and distribution of fertilizers and supplements containing prohibited material must include:

Sellers – records for the sale of fertilizers and supplements containing prohibited material must include:

*Fertilizers and supplements containing prohibited material sold in packages of less than 25 kg are exempt from point-of-sale record-keeping requirements. However, the seller is still required to keep records of product names, descriptions and lot numbers.

Compost products

In accordance with general fertilizer regulations, if one or more ingredients in a compost product are considered prohibited material, the product is subject to the labelling, recall and record-keeping procedures. Compost that contains food-grade animal protein in the form of restaurant waste, grocery store waste, or household organic collection waste is not subject to the new labelling, recall and record-keeping procedures.

Compost containing any form of SRM (for example composted whole cattle deadstock) is considered SRM itself, and may not be sold as a fertilizer or supplement.

Composting is recognized as a means of volume reduction of SRM only, and has not been accepted as an inactivation method. A Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) permit is required to compost SRM. The final product cannot be sold, but in some instances may be used with restrictions under permit.

Requirements for fertilizer exporters and importers

Fertilizers or supplements containing products from a rendering plant or a fish processing plant must be certified by the CFIA before export. Similarly, the importation of these products requires a CFIA import permit.

Registration of products

There are no new fertilizer and supplement registration regulations. For information about which fertilizer and supplement products require registration, contact the CFIA's Fertilizer Section.

Additional information

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