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2.3 Definition and classification of pesticides

According to FAO (2002), pesticides are defined as follows: 

“Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, or controlling any pest, including vectors of human or animal disease, unwanted species of plants or animals, causing harm during or otherwise interfering with the production, processing, storage, transport, or marketing of food, agricultural commodities, wood and wood products or animal feedstuffs, or substances that may be administered to animals for the control of insects, arachnids, or other pests in or on their bodies. The term includes substances intended for use as a plant growth regulator, defoliant, desiccant, or agent for thinning fruit or preventing the premature fall of fruit. Also used as substances applied to crops either before or after harvest to protect the commodity from deterioration during storage and transport” (FAO 2002).

EU legislation divides pesticides into plant protection products and biocides. The term ‘pesticide’ is often used interchangeably with ‘plant protection product (PPP)’, however, pesticide is a broader term that also covers non plant/crop uses, for example biocides [1]. These PPPs are products including ‘pesticide substances’ that protect crops or desirable or useful plants. They are primarily used in the agricultural sector but also in forestry, horticulture, amenity areas and in gardens. The products contain at least one active substance and have one of the following functions:

• protect plants or plant products against pests/diseases, before or after harvest;
• influence the life processes of plants (such as influencing their growth, excluding nutrients);
• preserve plant products;
• destroy or prevent growth of undesired plants or parts of plants.

EU countries authorize plant protection products on their territory and ensure compliance with EU rules (see section 2.5).

[1] Source: https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/pesticides