Food and feed derogations

Biocidal products made available on the market in Great Britain (GB) that contain food or feed as a repellent or attractant are within the scope of the GB Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR).

Making available on the market means any supply of a biocidal product, whether in return for payment or free of charge, at all stages of the supply chain. Some examples of this could include:

  • manufacturer to distributor
  • distributor to retail store
  • retail store to user

Food and feed that is made available on the GB market only as food and feed, and not with the intention that it be used as a repellent or attractant in a biocidal product, is not within the scope of GB BPR.

For example, if a homeowner buys peanut butter at the supermarket and uses it to bait a mousetrap, that is not within scope of GB BPR – but if a company supplies a mousetrap pre-baited with peanut butter, that is within scope of GB BPR.

Find out more about the scope of GB BPR.

Biocidal products that contain food and feed can only be supplied in GB once:

There are a select number of products containing food and feed that are currently on the GB market under derogations issued by HSE - you can find details of these on the list of UK authorised biocidal products. The system for granting food and feed derogations is now closed and HSE is unable to issue any further derogations. You can find out more about why we have derogations and why no more can be granted below.

The same approach is followed in Northern Ireland (NI) following the EU Biocidal Products Regulation (EU BPR). However, there may be differences in the status of active substances and product authorisations between the two regimes. You should check the BPR active substance listand UK authorised biocidal products, specifically the NI tabs. If you require further advice for products containing food and feed in NI please submit your enquiry to [email protected].

Why we have derogations

Products containing active substances that are under review for the relevant product type as part of the GB review programme may continue to be made available on the market under other national law in GB, such as the Control of Pesticides Regulations (COPR), whilst they transition to authorisation under GB BPR.

Many food and feed active substances were not originally supported in the review programme by the relevant deadline, and COPR was 'switched off' for repellent and attractant products containing these substances. To allow biocidal products containing food and feed active substances to benefit from the same transitional provisions as products containing other active substances in the review programme, for a limited time, companies could apply for a derogation for their products.

COPR continues to remain 'switched off' for products containing food and feed active substances and, since the deadline of 30 October 2014, new derogations for such products can no longer be issued. Therefore, new biocidal products containing food and feed active substances must receive product authorisation under GB BPR before they can be made available on the GB market.

Food and feed substances on the GB Simplified Active Substance List

The following food and feed substances are included on the GB Simplified Active Substance List:

  • d-fructose (CAS no: 57-48-7, EC no: 200-333-3)
  • honey (CAS no: 8028-66-8)
  • vinegar (food grade containing a maximum of 10 % acetic acid) (CAS no: 8028-52-2)
  • cheese
  • powdered egg
  • saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) (CAS no: 68876-77-7)
  • concentrated apple juice

If you want to supply a biocidal product based on any of these active substances in GB, you can apply for product authorisation under GB BPR now, but you must wait for the authorisation to be granted before placing the product on the GB market.

Food and feed substances in the GB review programme

The following food and feed substances are supported in the GB review programme via a specific provision in the GB Review Regulation (the law that implements the GB review programme), and products based on them do not qualify for the normal transitional provisions given to other review programme active substances:

  • orange, sweet, ext (extractives and their physically modified derivatives such as tinctures, concretes, absolutes, essential oils, oleoresins, terpenes, terpene-free fractions, distillates, residues, etc, obtained from Citrus sinensis, Rutaceae) (CAS No: 8028-48-6, EC No: 232-433-8)
  • garlic, ext (extractives and their physically modified derivatives such as tinctures, concretes, absolutes, essential oils, oleoresins, terpenes, terpene-free fractions, distillates, residues, etc, obtained from Allium sativum, Liliaceae) (CAS No: 8008-99-9, EC No: 232-371-1)

If you want to supply a biocidal product based on any of these active substances in GB, and do not have a valid GB food and feed derogation, you must wait for the active substance to be approved under GB BPR before applying for product authorisation. You must wait for the authorisation to be granted before placing the product on the GB market.

If you have a valid food and feed derogation in GB for a product based on any of these active substances, you must apply for product authorisation by the active substance approval date to remain on the market. Failure to submit an application to HSE by the deadline will result in your derogation being cancelled and the following phase-out periods will apply:

  • 180 days for supplying the biocidal product in GB and
  • 365 days for using the biocidal product in GB

Other food and feed active substances

Food and feed active substances that are not already approved, included on the GB Simplified Active Substance List, or supported in the GB review programme can still be supported for approval outside of the review programme, or they may be eligible for inclusion on the GB Simplified Active Substance List. Find out more about supporting an active substance.

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Updated 2024-01-03