We welcome any additional comments from our users for additional terms for this glossary.
See also our A-Z Index.
A pesticide that is used specifically to control unwanted mites.
The acceptable daily intake is the amount of a substance which can be ingested every day of an individual's entire lifetime, in the practical certainty, on the basis of all known facts, that no harm will result. The ADI is expressed as milligrams (mg) of chemical per kg body weight of the consumer. The ADI is derived from the most appropriate No Observed Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL) by applying an assessment factor normally 100.?
The acceptable operator exposure level is the maximum amount of active substance to which the operator may be exposed without any adverse health effects. The AOEL is expressed in mg of the chemical per kg body weight of the operator per day. The AOEL is usually derived in terms of a systemic dose and is based on the most appropriate NOAEL (qv) by applying an assessment factor normally 100 and any necessary correction for the extent of oral absorption.
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.
This is intended to define (on the basis of all known facts at the time of the evaluation) an estimate of a chemical substance in food (or drinking water), expressed on a bodyweight basis, that can be ingested over a short period of time, usually during one meal or one day, without appreciable health risk to the consumer Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR).
A substance other than water, without significant pesticidal properties, which enhances or is intended to enhance the effectiveness of a pesticide product (when it has been added to the spray tank with the pesticide product).
Application procedure used to make changes to product approvals or issue new product approvals that do not require the evaluation of data or technical information. Used to be known as the Administrative Fast Stream.
A non-commercial level of approval for experimental/trials work, which is carried out under stringent restrictions with a small total area to minimize operator, consumer, wildlife and environmental exposure. All crops must be destroyed.
ACRE is an independent Advisory Committee composed of leading scientists. Our main function is to give statutory advice to Ministers in the UK and devolved administrations on the risks to human health and the environment from the release and marketing of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). We also advise on the release of certain non-GM species of plants and animals that are not native to Great Britain.
The application of a pesticide from a fixed-wing aircraft or helicopter in flight.
A chemical used to control unwanted algae. (Algae are plants, which contain chlorophyll and have a simple cell structure. They are either aquatic (eg diatoms, seaweed) or live in damp places).
The subject of analysis (a pesticide itself or a product from a pesticide when it is degraded, or metabolised).
A positive list of active substances considered by Member States and the EC Commission, and accepted as meeting criteria as specified in Council Directive 91/414/EEC.
Official acknowledgement of satisfaction. A company wishing to advertise, sell, supply, store and/or use a pesticide in the UK must apply to CRD for an approval. An approval will only be given when all the required evidence and information on the safety, efficacy, and where relevant, the humaneness, of the pesticide has been submitted and evaluated. The final decision on approvals rests with Ministers.
Measurement of the arable field edges, and other areas of the field, which are intended to protect ecosystems that inhabit hedgerows, areas cropped with few pesticides and uncropped areas (such as field corners).
A scheme, run by the independent organisation AFS (Assured Food Standards), which promotes the safe and environmentally friendly production of fruit, salads and vegetables.
The administrative act by which the competent authority of a Member State authorises (following approval) the placing onto the market of a plant protection product.
Non-agricultural (public hygiene) pesticides and biocides (chemical or biological control agents) used to control unwanted pests (excludes plant protection products) eg wood preservatives, insecticides, algaecides and repellents. Information about these products is held on the main HSE website at the following link: http://www.hse.gov.uk/biocides/index.htm.
A micro-organism, including parasites or diseases, that is used to control pests weeds and diseases. Any micro-organism, including viruses, must be approved before it can be used as a pesticide. Larger organisms, such as insect predators or nematodes do not have to be approved as pesticides. However, non-native species may be subject to other legislation.
Plant protection products which contain biological control agents (microbials, pheromones, plant extracts) for use as agricultural, horticultural and home garden pesticides.
The Computer Aided Dossier Design and supplY format for the electronic submission of dossiers. The data are stored on CD-ROM.
The causal agents which induce tumours. They include external factors (chemicals, physical agents, viruses) and internal factors such as hormones. Under the EC Dangerous Substances Directive, Carcinogen Category 3 is the lowest hazard category, ie there is evidence of the agent causing tumours in rats or mice but the strength of evidence is not sufficient to place it in a higher category (category 2 or 1; category 1 being for a substance known to be carcinogenic in humans).
The Directorate of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) responsible for ensuring the safe use of biocides, industrial chemicals, pesticides and detergents.
Codex Alimentarius is a series of food standards and related texts that aim to provide a high level of consumer protection and fair practice in the trade of food and agricultural products.
The organisation charged with the development of the Codex standards and texts. The Codex Alimentarius Commission is an intergovernmental body jointly sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). Membership is open to all Member Nations and Associate Members of the FAO and WHO and currently consists of over 160 countries.
Substances or preparations, other than active substances, safeners or synergist, which are used or intended to be used in a plant protection product or adjuvant.
A chemical which has a pesticidal purpose but whose main use is non-pesticidal. Such a substance may only be used as a pesticide if approval for such use has been given. Examples are carbon dioxide and ethylene.
Comité des Organisations Professionnelles Agricoles de L'Union Européenne. An umbrella body of European farmers and growers associations.
Processing of commodities at very low temperatures can be achieved by milling/grinding pre-frozen samples in the presence of dry ice, a procedure known as ‘cryogenic milling’.
A stream for the processing of applications containing data in one or two specialist areas and mutual recognition applications.
Products used to make plants shed their leaves in order to regulate their growth.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Established in 2001, this department spearheads a major drive on green issues and the countryside. In addition to taking over responsibility for agriculture, the food industry and fisheries from the (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF)), it has taken on the responsibilities for environment, rural development, countryside, wildlife and sustainable development of the former (Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR)).
The dermal absorption of a pesticide is a measure of the amount in contact with the skin that enters the body and is systemically available. The extent to which pesticide active substances can penetrate the skin varies greatly based on chemical properties and formulation. A value for dermal penetration is included in calculations of operator exposure.
Products used to dry out the bodies of pest organisms or unwanted plant material.
Directorate General of the European Commission responsible for the Environment.
A condition causing damage to a plant.
Deoxyribonecleic acid. The carrier of genetic information in most organisms.
The complete data package submitted to Member States in support of inclusion of an active substance.
The time taken for an active substance to degrade by 50 per cent.
See European Community Co-Ordination (ECCO) Expert Group meetings.
European Court of Justice (Luxembourg). Gives judgements on the interpretation of EC legislation.
The main active component in an adjuvant.
An advisory panel of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides, made up of experts who provide advice on environmental issues.
EFSA Pesticides Peer review Co-Ordination.
EPPO is an intergovernmental organization. Its objectives are to protect plants, to develop international strategies against the introduction and spread of dangerous pests and to promote safe and effective control methods.
European Community Co-Ordination (ECCO) Expert Group meetings.
The former EC-level scientific peer review. This is now the EPCO (EFSA Pesticides Peer review Co-Ordination).
The European Food Safety Authority is an independent body that reports to the European Commission. It provides independent scientific advice on all matters with a direct or indirect impact on food safety. It carries out assessments of risks to the food chain, and scientific assessment on any matter that may have a direct or indirect effect on the safety of the food supply, including matters relating to animal health, animal welfare and plant health.
Agents used to control algae by coagulating the particles into a scum from the surface of water.
All crops subsequently grown in an area covered by an Experimental Approval including subsequent crops from treated perennial crops (eg apple) and semi-perennial crops (eg strawberry).
The legal arrangements for the evaluation and approval of pesticides are laid down in (Food and Environment Protection Act (FEPA)) 1985 (as amended). These are the UK National rules governing pesticides.
The independent food safety watchdog set up by an Act of Parliament in 2000 and implemented by the Food Standards Act 1999, to protect the public's health and consumer interests in relation to Food.
A pesticide used to control unwanted fungal diseases in plants.
The way products should be used according to the statutory conditions of authorisation, which are stated on the label.
GEP and GLP are the organisational processes and the conditions under which studies are planned, performed, monitored, recorded and reported. GEP and GLP ensures that the way the work is done is adequately standardised and of a sufficiently high quality to produce reliable results which can with confidence be compared with those of others carrying out the same work and applying the same general principles.
Time interval required for half a quantity of material to be eliminated naturally.
The set of inherent properties of a substance, or mixture of substances, that make it capable of causing adverse effects to humans, other organisms or the environment.
A pesticide used to control unwanted vegetation (weed killer).
A term used in the UK risk assessment calculations to describe the amount of food consumed by a person. Rather than using average values in the calculations, the 97.5th percentile value is used which gives a figure of approximately three times the average amount consumed. This takes into account the different eating patters that may occur throughout the population.
A pesticide used to control unwanted insects.
The application of a combination of biological, biotechnological, chemical, cultural or plant breeding measures whereby the use of pesticides is limited to the minimum strictly necessary to maintain harmful organisms below levels above which economically unacceptable damage or loss would occur.
Integrated Pest Management- Consideration of all available plant protection methods and integration of appropriate measures to prevent the development of, and to control, pests, weeds and diseases (defined more fully in the Sustainable Use Directive).
Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues, which conducts scientific evaluations of pesticide residues in food.
See Local Environment Risk Assessment for Pesticides.
The limit of determination 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).
A Local Environmental Risk Assessment for Pesticides is the calculation required before you can reduce the aquatic buffer zone requirement for specific pesticide products using horizontal boom or broadcast air-assisted sprayers.
The LTAEU are arrangements that allow for the extrapolation of the use of a pesticide from crops on a product label to certain other listed crops without the requirement for an additional authorisation. This in effect allows the use of pesticides on a specific ‘minor’ crop provided an authorisation exists for use of the same pesticide on a specific ‘major’ crop.
The lowest dose in a study at which an effect (or effects) is considered to be adverse occurs.
Directive 98/37/EC, which sets out the essential health and safety requirements that machinery placed on the Community market must meet if it is to benefit from free movement within the Community, and the procedures required to assess conformity with these requirements. To be replaced by Directive 2006/42/EC from 29 December 2009.
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Ministerially Approved Pesticide Product Number. A five figure number that appears on the product label, identifying the product and ensuring that it has been tested and is safe to use for the purposes stated.
An MRL is the maximum concentration of a pesticide residue (expressed as mg/kg), permitted in or on food commodities and animal feeds. MRLs are primarily a check that Good Agricultural Practice is being followed and to assist international trade in produce treated with pesticides. MRLs are not safety limits and exposure to residues in excess of an MRL does not automatically imply a hazard to health.
A microbiological entity, cellular or non-cellular, capable of replication or of transferring genetic material. The definition applies to, but is not limited to bacteria, fungi, protozoa, viruses and viroids.
- a major crop against a minor pest for which no practicable control measures are available.
A pesticide used to control unwanted slugs and snails.
Whan a pesticide residue is found at a level higher than that set for the commodity.
An agent that causes a permanent change in the amount or structure of the genetic material in an organism. Under the EC Dangerous Substances Directive, Mutagen Category 3 is the lowest hazard category, ie there is evidence of the agent causing genetic damage in mammals but the strength of evidence is not sufficient to place it in a higher category (category 2 or 1; category 1 being for a substance known to be mutagenic in humans).
Mutual recognition allows a product authorised in one EU member state to be authorised in an other member state following a reduced evaluation.
National Estimate of Dietary Intake (NEDI).
An estimate of the long term intake by consumers based on consumption of crops which contain residues at the median level (STMR). An estimate of the intake that an individual would be expected to incur over a prolonged period. The NEDI is compared against the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI).
National Estimate of Short Term Intake. An estimate of the short term intake by consumers based on consumption of crops which contain residues at the Maximum Residue Level (MRL) or highest residue in trials which reflect the pattern of use. An estimate of the intake that an individual could be expected to incur over a single meal. The NESTI is compared against the Acute Reference Dose (ARfD).
A pesticide used to control unwanted nematodes (eelworms).
The highest exposure level in a toxicity study at which there are no statistically significant and/or biologically significant increases in the frequency of adverse effects between the group of animals exposed to the test substance and its respective control group.
The person mixing and/or loading and/or applying the pesticide.
The term organophosphate (OP) is usually used to describe derivatives of phosphoric and similar acids. However, it may be more accurate to describe such compounds as 'organophosphorous compounds'. This term covers a wide range of chemicals not all of which display anticholinesterase activity.
One of the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) Scientific Panels, it deals with questions on the safety of plant protection products for the user/worker, the consumer of treated products and the environment as well as plant health. It is referred questions by EC-level Working Groups, to whom it responds.
This refers to an active substance molecule that has not been changed by metabolism.
Any device or appliance designed to be worn or held by an individual for protection against one or more health and safety hazards.
Any organism harmful to plants or to wood or other plant products, any undesired plant and any harmful creature.
Any substance, preparation or organism prepared or used for controlling any pest. A pesticide product consists of one or more active substances co-formulated with other materials. Formulated pesticides exist in many forms, such as solid granules, powders or liquids.
Semiochemicals produced by individuals which modify the behaviour of other individuals of the same species (ie an intraspecific effect).
Substances, preparations or organisms designed or used for destroying or controlling pests if their principal mode of action does not involve chemical or biological action. Includes heat, cold, physical barriers, greases, non-stick coatings and glues, physical injury/kinetic force, capture and disruptors (eg sound emitters and strobe lights).
destroy parts of plants or check or prevent the undesired growth of plants.
Sometimes used as a synonym for ‘pesticide’, but not in the strict legal sense.
Probabilistic modelling is a technique that considers all the possible combinations of consumption and residue levels. It can be used to provide information on the probability of a particular intake occurring.
Used in the same way as ADI.
A European Union-wide system for alerting Member States when a residue of potential concern has been detected in home-produced or imported produce.
A compound produced as a result of the metabolism of an active substance that is considered relevant for risk assessment purposes, based on both its toxicity and the levels found.
The lowest calibrated level used during analysis to detect residues. The RL may very from laboratory to laboratory depending on the equipment available and operating procedures used.
Proposal for areas of fields not to be sprayed close to residential property.
The amount of pesticide that may be present in fruit, vegetable and animal products following treatment with that pesticide. In addition to the pesticide that was applied, degradation or reaction products and metabolites that may be of toxicological risk, might also be found. These levels are expressed as milligrams of the chemical in a kilogram of crop (mg/kg), or parts per million (ppm).
The possibility that a harmful event arising from exposure to a substance, or mixture of substances that may occur under specific conditions.
A risk assessment determines whether pesticides at specific levels present a concern for consumer health. Consumer risk assessments are routinely assessed as part of the approval process for pesticides and are based on residue trials. Approval of a pesticide is only recommended when the assessment shows that consumer risk is acceptable.
A substance which reduces or eliminates the phytotoxic effects of a plant protection product on certain plant species.
Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health.
A national, government-run scheme that entitles the youngest school children to free fruit each day. It is part of the 5 A DAY programme to increase fruit and vegetable consumption.
The Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) which deals with questions on multi-sectoral issues that come within the competence of more than one Scientific Panel, including the Panel on plant health, plant protection products and their residues (PPR). It also deals with issues which do not come within the competence of any of the Scientific Panels.
Any person or organisation with an interest in the activities of CRD or who may be affected by the outcomes of CRD's work.
A regulation, proposed as part of the Thematic Strategy for Pesticides, which will require Member States to supply the EC with specified statistics on pesticides sales and use.
A form of legislation which allow the provisions of an Act of Parliament to be brought into force or altered without Parliament having to pass a new act.
European legislation (proposed as part of the Thematic Strategy on Pesticides) setting a framework of measures to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides by reducing the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment and promoting the use of Integrated Pest Management and of alternative approaches or techniques such as non-chemical alternatives to pesticides.
A substance or preparation which shows no or weak activity but can give enhanced activity to the active substance(s) in a plant protection product.
A substance which causes congenital abnormalities (deformities) in the baby or offspring in the womb.
One of a number of EC environmental strategies adopted by the European Commission, in this case to reduce further the impact of pesticides on human health and the environment by proposing new legislation and making linkages to existing related measures such as the Water Framework Directive.
The Government organisation responsible for the regulation of veterinary medicines.
Directive 200/60/EC, which establishes a framework for improving and integrating the way water bodies are managed throughout the EC.
Any plant growing in a location where it is not wanted.
Common name for a herbicide (see herbicide) used in home garden situations.
Arrangements for authorising the use of plant protection products within a group of EC Member States. The Authorisation Regulation provides for three zones: North, Centre and South.