Jamaicans warned not to purchase pesticides with repackaged labels

The Pesticides Control Authority is warning Jamaicans against purchasing pesticides with repackaged labels.

According to the authority’s registrar, Tamara Morrison, it is illegal to repackage labels, as the Authority is the only body mandated to regulate the manufacture, use and distribution of pesticides.

“We have inspectors that visit these stores and they see these repackaged containers that can be confiscated, because the farmers that are using it, or general persons who are buying the repackaged pesticides, need to have all the information,” she said.

Speaking with JIS News, Morrison noted that critical information such as withdrawal periods and pre-harvest periods that are listed on labels can be compromised if they are repackaged, and can lead to misinformation affecting farmers negatively.

“The general information that is found on the label is very important and the label is a major part of our registration process to ensure that all the information needed by the public is available – protective wear, user information, how it is diluted, crops it is intended for and pests it is intended for,” she explained.

According to Morrison, a common misconception is that pesticides can be used on several pests if they are in the same classification.

“For example, a tick wash cannot be used on a mite problem because this is not something that can be used on food, so it is very important that when farmers get the label they know that they are using it for the intended crop and the intended pest and that they are using it in proper concentration,” she said.

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