ESTA European Seed Treatment Assurance
ESTA European Seed Treatment Assurance
ESA has developed the “European Seed Treatment Assurance” (ESTA) scheme for quality assurance during the application of plant protection products to seed (seed treatment) and the handling and use of treated seed.
The scheme is a trademark protected ESA initiative and combines several elements to guarantee professional, high quality seed treatment applications. It comprises
- a quality assurance charter (ESTA Standard) which provides the base for an independent certification of treatment sites by accredited auditors
- a guidance for auditors (ESTA Checklist) to promote and simplify the harmonised use and interpretation of the standard
- defined maximum dust reference values
- a uniform testing protocol for these dust reference values
- recommendations for safe use labelling of treated seed and information to be supplied to users
Certified treatment facilities will be granted a license to make use of the ESTA logo on the seed treated in their facilities. This logo shall not only document that the treatment process and resulting seed are of a certain quality; in combination with the safe use labelling advice it shall also help to facilitate the free movement of treated seed throughout the European Union.
Background and Context
On 15 May 2008, the German Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) responsible for the authorisation of plant protection products in Germany decided to suspend the authorisations of defined insecticides used for seed treatment. The use of seed treated with these products was suspected to be the cause of an unusually high mortality rate of honeybees observed in a small area of Southwest Germany in early May 2008.
Following investigations, it was confirmed that the bees had apparently died from exposure to clothianidin, an active substance contained in plant protection product used as seed treatment for maize in Germany.
The main causal factor identified was the not correct application of the plant protection product, in combination with the specific sowing equipment used, special weather conditions during sowing and a specific dosage rate that had been compulsory to fight the spread of diabrotica, a quarantine pest currently spreading throughout the south and centre of Europe.
The results of the analysis carried out indicated that unusually high quantities of dust had been emitted into the environment during sowing as a result of the abrasion of corn seed from batches which had not been correctly applied to the seed. The drift of the abraded material was amplified by the use of certain pneumatic corn-sowing machines that allowed the material to be dispersed into the air, as well as by the dryness of the soil and strong winds during sowing, which dispersed the product in neighbouring fields frequented by bees.
The bee incident in Germany underlined that the quality of the seed treatment is essential to help to avoid serious adverse impact on the environment and that each part of the chain needs to assume specific quality assurance responsibility.
Available documents
