CPDA ADJUVANT CERTIFICATION INFORMATION
The CPDA voluntary Adjuvant Certification Program is the first of its kind. Since its launch in 2001, it has quickly gained industry recognition as an innovative tool for encouraging product stewardship in the manufacture of agricultural adjuvants. Prior to this program, end users had little, if any, scientifically accepted standards by which they could effectively judge the quality of a tank-mix adjuvant. Members of the CPDA Adjuvants and Inerts Committee developed the program to bring a level of consistency in product performance for adjuvants used with agricultural pesticide formulations. Products certified under the program must meet 16 separate benchmarks click here that are based on technologically and scientifically derived definitions and standards adopted by the American Society for Testing and Materials, now known as ASTM International, and certain requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Agricultural spray adjuvants are not subject to federal regulation by EPA. To learn more about the CPDA program, please follow these links:
The definition of a tank mix adjuvant, as developed and approved by ASTM, is “a material added to a tank mix to aid or modify the action of an agrichemical, or the physical characteristics of the mixture.” Adjuvants provide important benefits to applicators by improving pesticide spreading, wetting, canopy and leaf penetration, and adhesion. Adjuvants can reduce pesticide drift, reduce foaming problems in spray tank mixtures, provide acidification to reduce alkaline hydrolysis and reduce unintended exposures and potentially adverse environmental effects.
When users purchase a CPDA certified adjuvant product, they have the assurance that the product meets the functionality claims indicated on the label according to a specified, uniform set of standards, and that ingredients used in the product meet EPA regulations for approved ingredients for use in pesticide tank mixes. The ASTM International standards E1519 and E609 (available for purchase on the ASTM website) provide the structure for ensuring an adjuvant product is of high quality and reliability. Pesticide registrants and users will have the assurance that the product will meet its performance claims and that all product labeling guidelines have been followed.
Any company that sells an adjuvant may apply for certification, regardless of whether or not the company is a member of CPDA. An applicant seeking certification of its adjuvant product submits to CPDA a completed online Application. CPDA’s industry-led expert Certification Committee then reviews the application to ensure the product meets the specifications set forth in each of sixteen standards. In conducting its review of the application package, the CPDA Certification Committee may recommend slight changes to conclude the approval process.
Once approved by the Committee, to complete the certification process and procure authorization to use the registered certification trademark (Certification Mark), CPDA will provide the applicant with the License Agreement documentation. The applicant signs and returns all documentation, including a final product label displaying the CPDA Certification Logo. The application fee will be invoiced at this time. The entire review process will generally take 90 days from submission of the application to completion of review and notice of product certification.
The CPDA Certification License Agreement is effective for a period of 3 years, after which renews upon product recertification to continue use of the Certification Mark for another 3-year period. Additionally at any time a product must be re-certified if a chemical or compositional change of the product impacts one or more of the voluntary standards, or if new information or manufacturing changes impact the toxicity profile of the product.
What are the CPDA Adjuvant Certification fees?
Application and Renewal fees are listed below. Application fees are due once a product is approved for CPDA Certification and provides certification for a period of three (3) years. A Renewal Certification process is conducted and invoiced every 3 years after the initial approval. For convenience, the invoicing of annual maintenance fees have been discontinued. The Application Fee and the 3-year Renewal Fee have been adjusted to compensate for the elimination of the annual maintenance fees. For CPDA Members, the new pricing does not reflect an increase in cost over a 3-year period.
Application Fee
- CPDA Members: First time application approval for each product – $600
- CPDA Members: Application for sublicensing of each product – $250
- Non-Members: First time application approval for each product – $800
- Non-Members: Application for sublicensing of each product – $350
Three-year Renewal Fee
- CPDA Members: Three-year(3) certification renewal fee for each standard product – $500
- CPDA Members: Three-year(3) certification renewal fee for each sublicensed product – $200
- Non-Members: Three-year(3) certification renewal fee for each standard product -$650
- Non-Members: Three-year(3) certification renewal fee for each sublicensed product – $300
A product may be subject to a re-certification fee if a chemical or compositional change of the product impacts one or more of the voluntary standards, or if new information or manufacturing changes impact the toxicity profile of the product.
An applicant for certification will have had to conduct a minimum of acute dermal toxicity, oral toxicity and eye irritation studies on its product. If any ingredient on the SDS is identified as a “hazardous chemical” under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, then inhalation and skin irritation and/or skin corrosion studies are required. If a product label includes a recommendation for use in aquatic applications, then an aquatic toxicity study is required.
In 2006, EPA authorized under PR Notice 98-10 the use of a specific statement that registrants may use to recommend the use of CPDA certified adjuvants on pesticide labels. In 2012, CPDA changed its name, and EPA confirmed that registrants using the 2006 approved recommendation statement could revise the statement on their labels solely to incorporate the new CPDA name without formal notification to the Agency. Accordingly, the current EPA-approved recommendation statement is:
“When an adjuvant is to be used with this product, [name of the registrant of the pesticide] recommends the use of a Council of Producers & Distributors of Agrotechnology certified adjuvant.”
EPA approval of this standardized label language provides greater consistency in pesticide labeling for adjuvant use. This language allows for clear identification of products that have been self-certified under CPDA’s program.
No, an applicant for certification will not be required to submit any information deemed Confidential Business Information (CBI) or proprietary information. An applicant will only need to submit the product label, an SDS, and a 1-2 page summary of required toxicity studies.
