Scope
According to the definition in the Biocidal Products Regulation BPR (EU) No 528/2012, biocidal products are intended to control harmful organisms by chemical or biological means. They are also used to protect materials or to prolong their shelf life. There are many possible uses for biocidal products; they are divided into 4 main groups (disinfectants and general biocidal products, preservatives, pest control products, other biocidal products) which contain a total of 22 product types.
Scope and distinction from other areas of regulation
It is sometimes difficult to define whether a product is a biocidal product within the meaning of the BPR or not. To avoid double regulation, Article 2 (2) of the BPR excludes biocidal products that are within the scope of other legal instruments such as:
- plant protection products
- cosmetic products
- medicinal products for human use
- medicinal products for veterinary use
- medicated feeding stuffs
- In vitro diagnostic medical devices
- active implantable medical devices
- medicinal products
- food and feed additives
- hygiene of foodstuffs
- animal feed
- flavourings and certain food ingredients with flavouring properties for use in and on foods
- safety of toys
Further information
To help with some of the questions regarding the scope of the Regulation, CA documents or implementing acts (such as those referred to in paragraph 3 of Article 3 of the BPR) are available.
On CIRCABC you can find publicly available finalised CA documents.
If there is no suitable answer to your question in the above documents, you can contact the Competent Authority (see Helpdesk). Formulate your question, providing as many details as possible, so that an answer can be found in dialogue and exchange with the EU Member States (by way of electronic consultation).
According to Article 3(3) of the BPR, implementing acts can be adopted to decide whether a specific product is a biocidal product, a treated article or neither (see legislative texts).