Quality British Turkey (QBT) has become the most recent assurance scheme to be approved under the UK’s Rodenticide Stewardship Regime, joining the Duck Assurance Scheme, the British Egg Industry Council Code of Practice for Lion Eggs and Red Tractor Farm Assurance as poultry-related members of the new structure.
The QBT move means that a total of nine UK-based assurance schemes were approved for rodenticide stewardship in time for today’s rule change which now governs farmers’ eligibility to purchase professional use rodenticides.
As a result, farmers covered by any of the nine schemes are now able to purchase professional use rodenticides with stewardship labels by showing their assurance scheme certificate and personal I/D.
Developed by the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) to meet Health and Safety Executive requirements, the new stewardship regime applies to all rodenticide suppliers, including those selling over the internet.
According to CRRU, the exact date when farmers will start to be asked for certification cannot be specified due to the phasing out old stock and the introduction of stewardship-authorised products.
From now until September is being viewed as a transition period, during which time old stock with pre-stewardship labels can still be purchased without certification for application strictly by the end of the “use by” period, while new stocks of stewardship-labelled products will require certification.
Two certain dates are known, however. These are that from September 30, 2016, all old stock sales will cease, with proof of competence and I/D being required to be shown for new purchases from October 1, 2016.
