Listing Pesticides to the Canadian Organic Standards

Will OMRI list a pesticide product that is not yet registered by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA)?

Yes. During the early days of the OMRI Canada Review Program, it was not clear whether pesticide products without a pest control product (PCP) number could be reviewed and approved for use in organic production in Canada. After further consideration, a decision was made to approve products for use in organic production that are not yet registered with PMRA. With this said, the product label of all pesticide products sold in Canada must include a PCP number. It is illegal to sell unregistered products in Canada, and manufacturers applying to OMRI are responsible for obtaining all required registrations separate and independent from OMRI’s review. This applicant responsibility is published in the OMRI Policy Manual §4.2.2 as follows: “OMRI Listed suppliers and applicants are responsible for understanding and complying with all applicable laws and regulations governing the production, registration, labeling, and marketing of their product(s).” OMRI welcomes suppliers to submit an application for review to the Canadian Organic Standards while the formulation is pending PMRA registration.

This article was originally published in the spring 2014 edition of the OMRI Materials Review Newsletter, and was reviewed and updated in December 2020 by Technical Director Doug Currier.