Certain plant pesticides banned in Switzerland from July
The use of chlorpyrifos is particularly prominent in the growing of citrus fruits such as mandarins and oranges
Keystone
Plant pesticides with the active ingredient chlorpyrifos and the variant chlorpyrifos-methyl may no longer be used in Switzerland from July 1, 2020. Until then, their use is permitted under certain conditions.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/ts
Last June the Federal Office for Agriculture banned the use of pesticides containing these active substances from August 1, 2019. It argued that the active substances were extremely toxic to humans, birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, insects and, in particular, all types of bees and bumblebees.
However, eight manufacturers and distributors of these pesticides appealed to the Federal Administrative Court, which upheld the complaints with suspensive effect.
The appellants, as well as Greenpeace Switzerland, WWF Switzerland and Federal Office for Agriculture, have now reached an agreement in the context of a judicial conciliation, the Federal Gazette saidExternal link on Tuesday. This stipulates when the ban will apply and how the individual agents can be used until then.
The affected products are Blocade, Cortilan, OleoRel, Pyrinex and Reldan 22. As of July 1, their use is prohibited for all crops. A complaint can be lodged against this decision within 30 days.
Chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl will be banned in the European Union from the end of January.
More
More
Switzerland nurtures secrecy on pesticides
This content was published on
Swiss pesticide approval procedures are still far from transparent, fueling strong suspicions of collusion between the authorities and industry.
Council of Europe warns against excluding Ukraine and Europe from peace talks
This content was published on
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, has warned against the exclusion of Ukraine and Europe from peace negotiations.
Switzerland records fewer illegal medicine imports
This content was published on
Last year, the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security seized 15% fewer illegal imports of medicine than the previous year.
Swiss president reacts to US vice president’s speech in Munich
This content was published on
For Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, the Munich Security Conference was marked by uncertainty over the course of US foreign policy.
Swiss ‘Covid leaks’ scandal: court keeps gagging order
This content was published on
Swiss prosecutors, investigating a leak of confidential government information during Covid-19, remain blocked from seeing sensitive communication.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Pesticide companies ‘seriously deficient’ on human rights, says UN toxics expert
This content was published on
The UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics believes pesticide companies and the Swiss government should do more to phase out hazardous chemicals.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.