Fake pesticides exist too - a few tricks to tell real from fake

Pesticides are indispensable in agricultural production and can be used to control pests and diseases, but there are currently a great many types of pesticides on the market, so it is inevitable that some counterfeit and inferior products get mixed in. Therefore, you must learn how to judge whether a pesticide is real or fake yourself. Let's take a look below at how to tell real pesticides from fake ones.

1. Product description or instructions for use. The content of the product description should match the properties of the pesticide, and the description should include the pesticide's characteristics, scope of application, suitable dosage, time of use and precautions, etc. The descriptions of fake pesticides are often blurry and illegible, and arbitrarily exaggerate the pesticide's effects.

2. Registered trademark. This includes two parts: first, the four words “registered trademark”, and second, the trademark design. Neither can be missing. Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for a counterfeit print to be completely identical, and as long as you compare it with the original label, you can spot the flaw.

3. Production permit number. The pesticide production permit system stipulates that all enterprises, institutes and others that produce chemical pesticide formulations, microbial agents and other agents for use on crops, forests, vegetables, fruit and in homes, regardless of their affiliation or economic nature, must apply for or retroactively obtain a production permit. Enterprises that have not obtained a production permit are not allowed to produce or sell pesticides.

4. Pesticide registration certificate number. Whether or not a pesticide registration certificate number is present is an important basis for judging how “credible” a pesticide product is.

5. Quality standard. Quality standards are generally approved and issued for implementation by the state or quality inspection departments, and this category mainly includes international standards, national standards, ministerial standards, provincial local standards, enterprise standards, etc. Fake pesticides generally have no quality standard.

6. Production date or batch number. Pesticides generally have both a production date and a batch number, whereas fake pesticides may have incomplete ones.

7. Specifications and formulation. Specifications mainly include the specification of active ingredient content and the packaging specification. The packaging specification is mainly noted on the packaging regarding the active ingredient, while the content specification must be noted on the pesticide label. Fake pesticides generally have no specifications or formulation.

8. Validity period, factory name and factory address. Generally, pesticides note the validity period, factory name, factory address and so on on the label, and some even note the postal code, telephone number, cable address or email address, etc. For fake pesticides, this part of the content is blurry or simply absent.

Legitimate pesticide manufacturers will have a complete label, and the label will definitely have the detailed information listed above. If any of the detailed information below is missing, it may be a fly-by-night manufacturer.