Australian agricultural chemical manufacturer Accensi pays the price for contaminated herbicides

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has fined Accensi Pty Ltd (Accensi) $100 000 for the supply of herbicides found to contain additional chemical actives other than those listed in the registered formulation.
 
APVMA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Chris Parker, said Accensi had settled the payment of four separate infringement notices each totalling $25 000, under section 83(1)(a) of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994.
 
“These are the largest fines ever issued by the APVMA under the Agvet Code. The fines reflect that the APVMA treats issues affecting the quality of agricultural and veterinary chemicals seriously,” Dr Parker said.
 
“Crop protection is a multi-billion dollar industry in Australia and farmers rely on agvet chemical manufacturers and registrants to supply registered products that are safe and will work as directed to eliminate pests and weeds and improve agricultural productivity.
 
“So when we discovered that a manufacturer had supplied chemicals that didn’t meet the registered formulation, we investigated with the full force of the law.”
 
The APVMA first became aware of the issue in December 2016, when companies affected by the contamination provided notice to the APVMA of several voluntary recalls that they were undertaking.
 
In addition to settling the infringement notice amounts, Accensi has been invited to provide an Enforceable Undertaking, regarding contamination control of all SC Herbicide products produced in the future.
 
The APVMA continues to work with registrants on the voluntary recall of affected agricultural products.