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nafex - Re: [nafex] neem oil sources for Canada ?

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: david.maxwell@dal.ca
  • To: Road's End Farm <organic87@frontiernet.net>, nafex mailing list at ibiblio <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [nafex] neem oil sources for Canada ?
  • Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:09:14 -0400

Yes, I thought I had posted the reason, but obviously I didn't. It is dead
simple. The PMRA
functions on what might charitably be called the precautionary principle -
everything is
presumed to be toxic and harmful until proven safe. And to prove it safe you
have to submit
a huge dossier of evidence, including, for example levels of residues on
mature fruit (at the
micro-mol level) which must be performed in specialised accredited labs. All
this is
enormously expensive, and no manufacturer will go through it unless he
perceives a market
sufficient to recoup the cost of getting certification. Neem isn't big
enough. Surround, which
is as benign as one could possibly get, (just kaolin clay), is certified in
Canada only for
commercial production use, (not household domestic), because the manufacturer
perceived
this as his market and did not bother to invest in seeking domestic
certification. So one
cannot buy it in Canada unless one has a full-blown Pesticide Applicator
Certificate, (slog
through a 300 page manual, and write a multiple choice exam.) But none of
this is unique to
Canada - every jurisdiction functions in exactly the same manner, including
yourselves in the
States..

> Anyone know why it's not permitted for agricultural use in Canada?
>
>
> -- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 6A now I think
> Fresh-market organic produce, small scale
>
>
>
>
> On Jan 13, 2013, at 1:40 PM, david.maxwell@dal.ca wrote:
>
> > Not so easy. Richters, (and other garden supply places) sell neem
> > as a leaf shine, in small bottles. Peter needs several liters for
> > his purposes. But one can order it from the States, and it comes
> > in with no problem as long as it is not listed as for agricultural
> > use. (If it is being used for anything else - as a shampoo, herbal
> > tonic, even powering one's diesel VW - it is outside the purview of
> > PMRA, and Canada Custome pays it no heed, (except occasionally
> > looking for GST and/or duties))
>
>
>






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