Co-op Pesticide CoP: GLOSSARY

BEFORE

FARM PRACTICES

AFTER

Glossary

Active substance/ingredient is any substance or micro-organism, including a virus, that has a general or specific action: against harmful organisms; or on plants, parts of plants or plant products. Active substances are usually formulated with other materials in a pesticide product.

ADI: Acceptable Daily Intake is the estimate of the amount of a substance in food, which can be ingested daily over a lifetime by humans without appreciable health risk.
The ADI is derived from the NOEL (below).

Anticholinesterase is a substance that inhibits the activity of cholinesterase (inc acetylcholinesterase) enzymes. These enzymes break down the chemicals that trigger across the synapse of nerves. The result is the nervous system "fires" too much causing headaches, stomach aches, tremours, and in severe cases, death.

Approved are those on the EU Annex 1 list and accepted for designated uses by the UK's Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP). UK Approved List

ARfD: Acute Reference Dose is an estimate of the amount of a substance in food, which can be ingested in a single meal by humans without appreciable health risk. The ARfD is derived from the NOEL (below) More

APS -- Assured Produce Scheme

Bio-control or Biological Control Agent (BCA):- Biological control of pests by use of other organisms.

Biodiversity is a contraction of biological diversity. The 1992 United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity defines it as: 'the variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes, of which they are part, including diversity within and between species, and of ecosystems.'

British Farm Standard (also known as the 'little red tractor') is a farm assurance scheme. Farmers and growers are inspected by qualified independent inspectors who check all aspects of the production process from animal movements to housing, feed, animal health and welfare, and the way they care for the countryside. The little red tractor logo is displayed on the packaging of products from farms which meet the standard. British Retail Consortium is he retail trade association in the UK.

Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 (SI 1986/1510) (as amended) (COPR) define in detail those types of pesticides which are subject to control and those which are excluded; prescribe the approvals required before any pesticide may be sold, stored, supplied, used or advertised; and allow for general conditions on sale, supply, storage, advertisement, and use, including aerial application, of pesticides.

COSHH Regulations apply to a wide range of pesticides used at work. They lay down essential requirements and a step by step approach for the assessment and control of exposure to hazardous substances.

Climate Change is the change in the world's climate caused by increased concentration of greenhouse gases (called GHGs) (particularly carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with global warming.

Duty of Care applies to anybody who carries, keeps, treats, or disposes of waste, or who acts as a third party and arranges matters such as imports or disposal. They must ensure that nobody in the chain commits an offence regarding waste.

EUREP GAP representsleading European food retailers, EUREP is a technical working party aimed at promoting and encouraging best agricultural practice in the fruit and vegetable industry. Its Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) protocol sets out a framework of good agricultural practice on farms and is a means of incorporating Integrated Crop Management practices within the framework of commercial agricultural production.

Eutrophication is the enrichment of an ecosystem with chemical nutrients, typically compounds containing nitrogen or phosphorus, that promotes plant growth, favoring certain species over others and forcing a change in species composition. In aquatic environments, enhanced growth of choking aquatic vegetation or phytoplankton (that is, an algal bloom) disrupts normal functioning of the ecosystem, causing a variety of problems. From Wikipedia

EPA (Food and Environment Protection Act 1985). Section 16 of the Act describes the aims of the controls as being to: protect the health of human beings, creatures and plants; safeguard the environment; secure safe, efficient and humane methods of controlling pests; and make information about pesticides available to the public.
FAPAS Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme

Focus List identifies those active ingredients that are found as residues in the crop.FPC Fresh Produce Consortium FPC:COP is Fresh Produce Consortium Code of Practice ‘The Control of Pesticides’. 4th Edition. 2004.

Good Agricultural Practice is the achievement of the desired degree of control of pests and diseases at an economic cost with minimum hazard to operators and other people in the vicinity, consumers, beneficial organisms and the environment.

Harvest Interval (HI) is the time which must elapse between the final treatment with an individual pesticide and the harvest of the crop, as detailed on the pesticide label.

Integrated Crop Management (ICM) is a cropping strategy in which the farmer seeks to conserve and enhance the natural environment while economically producing safe, wholesome food. Its long-term aim is to optimise the needs of consumers, society, the environment and the farmer. ICM is based on an understanding of the biological and ecological interactions, in nutrient cycles, pests, weeds and diseases, with farm management systems. It is also geared towards sustaining and optimising natural resources.
(IPM - Integrated Pest Management is the older term for the same).

Limit of Determination (LOD) is the lowest concentration of a pesticide residue or contaminant that can be routinely identified and quantitatively measured in a specified food, agricultural commodity or animal feed with an acceptable degree of certainty by the method of analysis. It is also known as the Limit of Quantification (LOQ).

LOAEL: Lowest Observable Adverse Effect Level is similar to NOAEL, but where an first effect is seen)

LOD’s are the Limits of detection.

Maximum Residue Level (MRL) are the maximum concentration of pesticide residue (expressed as milligrams of residue per Kg of food or feeding stuff) likely to occur in or on a food after the use of pesticide according to good agricultural practice (GAP). The Pesticide residue levels in food are controlled by the Pesticides (MRL in Crops, Foods and Feeding Stuffs) Regulations 1999 (as amended). MRL’s are intended as a check that GAP is being followed and to assist trade. MRL’s are not safety limits ...A pesticide can only be approved if the potential exposure of a consumer to its residues in food results in residue intake that is within the ADI (acceptable daily intake) and where relevant, the ARfD (the acute reference dose) for that pesticide. (Joint Food Chain Briefing on MRLs pdf)

NOAEL: No Observable Adverse Effect Level (The greatest concentration of an agent, that causes no detectable adverse alteration of morphology, functional capacity, growth, development or lifespan of the target.

Packhouses/ Growers refers to those suppliers that have been formally approved by the Supplier for the supply of fresh, frozen or prepared, fresh-cut produce for use in Cooperative Retail own-brand products. The Supplier must be able to provide objective evidence that the Packhouse/Grower complies with the provisions of this policy. New Packhouses/Growers cannot be introduced to Cooperative Retail supply chain without prior notification to the appropriate Technologist.

Prophylactic, is generally, a preventive measure. The word comes from the Greek for "an advance guard," an apt term for a measure taken to fend off a disease. However, in pesticide use it means spraying "just in case" rather than waiting for signs, or threshold, of disease. National Pesticide Strategy para 19 for more.

PSD Glossary