T-4-112 - Information Required for the Assessment of By-products and Other "Waste" Materials Sold as Fertilizers or Supplements

September 1997

The following list of information should be provided for the assessment of by-products and other "waste" materials sold as (in) fertilizers or supplements. Once the information is received, the division will conduct a preliminary screening of the safety and efficacy of the product. Any additional requirements will then be outlined.

  1. Identify and describe the product and its constituent material(s) (by-products or "wastes").
  2. Provide a copy of the product label or shipping bill (if sold in bulk).
  3. Describe the benefits of using the product, and the recommended rates and methods of application.
  4. Identify the product's nutrients or other active ingredients or essential components which account for the benefits. Specify, if known, the form in which these ingredients occur.
  5. Identify and describe in general terms the industrial or manufacturing process from which the product and each constituent by-product or "waste" material is derived. A flow-chart diagram of this process would also be helpful.

    Include a description of feedstock for the process, any chemicals or materials added throughout the pathway of the process, and any transformations these undergo as a result of the process.

    Also, identify the point(s) during the process at which the product or the by-product or "waste" is generated.

  6. Identify, based on points v) and any available analyses, contaminants which may occur in the material. Specify, if known, the form in which these contaminants occur.
  7. Provide any analyses of the product which may be available, accompanied by methods of analysis, detection limits and recovery rates for the methods.
  8. Provide copies of scientific reports on the effectiveness of the product, on the human, plant, animal or environmental safety of the product or its constituent materials, and on their environmental fate.
  9. Identify whether this material is currently being used in agriculture, or any other uses to which the material is being put.
  10. Provide any other information related to the potential effectiveness or safety of the product (e.g., related to problems associated with the industrial process from which a by-product is generated).

For further information on the Fertilizers Act and Regulations or on the above data requirements, please contact:

Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Plant Health and Biosecurity Directorate
Crop Inputs Division
Fertilizer Section
59 Camelot Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0Y9
Canada
Telephone: 613-773-7189
Facsimile: 613-773-7163