This post is related to Amazon’s Pesticide Marking policy in order to comply with the EPA and FIFRA rules for selling on Amazon. Amazon prioritizes customer safety and trust. In coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Amazon's policies aim to make the marketplace compliant with FIFRA and the EPA's pesticide and pesticide device classification and regulation. EPA/FIFRA’s classifications of Pesticide and Pesticide Devices cover a wide array of product types. Even if your product is not technically classified or registered as a Pesticide or Pesticide Device product, making pesticidal claims in your listing content can result in the product being classified as a Pesticide/Pesticide Device by Amazon. Aside from FIFRA are also state and local laws for the regulation of pesticides and pesticide products that need to be considered when selling your products. Please review FIFRA and other applicable state and local laws for classifying and selling your products.
Amazon Pesticide Marking Attribute Requirement
Amazon.com recently released new requirements for listing Pesticide and Pesticide Device Products in the US Marketplace. Starting September 10th, 2020, the new “pesticide marking attribute” requirements require new listings of all Pesticides and Pesticide Devices to provide a “pesticide marking attribute” upon listing creation. The pesticide marking attribute can either be EPA Registration number and/or EPA Establishment number. If the product is a Pesticide or Pesticide Device that is exempt from EPA regulation certification that the product is exempt will need to be submitted as the pesticide marking attribute. For existing Pesticide and Pesticide Device listings pesticide marking information needs to be submitted by January 11, 2021 or listings may be subject for removal.
It’s critical that sellers understand if products are classified as pesticide and pesticide by the EPA and FIFRA to understand what action is needed by them to remain within Amazon’s product submission requirements. Sellers also need to be aware of pesticidal claims and verbiage that may result in their product being incorrectly classified.
The first step to defining how Pesticide Policy impacts a specific product or seller is a clear understanding of what is and what isn’t a Pesticide or Pesticide Device.
Who the New Amazon Pesticide Marking Requirement Applies To
From an Amazon selling perspective, FIFRA liability applies to sellers (selling on Seller Central) and vendors (selling on Vendor Central) of pesticide or pesticide devices. This means if you do any of the following throughout the supply chain: distribute, sell, offer for sale, hold for distribution, hold for sale, hold for shipment, ship, deliver for shipment, release for shipment, receive and deliver or offer to deliver, import, you are liable.
What is Classified as a Pest According to EPA Classifications under FIFRA?
According to the Pesticide Seller Thinking Cap Module 2, Under FIFRA a pest can be almost any living organism
Non-comprehensive examples of possible pests include:
Insects
Rodents
Funguses
Weeds
Other plants and animals on land or in water
and viruses, bacteria, and other micro-organisms - except those on or in a living human or animal
What is Classified as a Pesticide According to EPA Classifications under FIFRA?
FIFRA classifies a pesticide with the following definition. Contains a substance or mixture of substances that is intended for
Destroying, repelling, prevent or mitigating any pest (lessen the severity of) a pest.
Use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant.
Use as a nitrogen stabilizer
This includes substances that attract pests to lessen their impact, for example by attracting pests to a trap.
Under FIFRA, examples of Pesticides
Weed killer
Flea and tick shampoo
Cleaning products
Disinfectant, sanitization products
Pool products - algae
Examples of Products not classified as Pesticides under FIFRA
Hand Soap
Hand Wipes
Drugs for humans and animals
What is Classified as a Pesticide Device According to EPA Classifications under FIFRA?
The EPA classifies a pesticide device with the following definition “an instrument or contrivance (other than a firearm) that is used to destroy, repel, trap or mitigate (lessen the severity of) any pest such as insects, weeds, rodents, certain other animals, birds, mold/mildew, bacteria and viruses.” The key different between Pesticides and Pesticide Devices are that Pesticides contains a substance or mixture of substances that is intended to destroy, repel, prevent or mitigate (lessen the severity of) a pest. This includes substances that attract pests to lessen their impact, for example by attracting pests to a trap. Pesticide Devices works by physical means (such as electricity, light or mechanics) and does not contain a substance or mixture of substances to perform its intended pesticidal purpose.
Ultraviolet lights intended to kill bacteria or other microbes
High frequency sound generators intended to repel rodents
Insect traps, like fly paper or black-light bug zappers
Water purifiers that kill or remove microbes using ultraviolet light or filtration
Specific Exceptions to Pesticide Device Classification
Flyswatter - more so on the conduct of user than the performance of the device
Mousetrap - instruments used to trap mice and other vertebrates if sold without bait
Amazon Updates Sellers and Vendors Can Make to Ensure Product Submissions of Amazon Pesticide Marking
There is a different process whether you are a seller (on seller central) or a vendor to Amazon (vendor central) for Pesticide Marking.
Vendor Central Individual Product Pesticide Marking Updates
To submit a pesticide marking for a single product/ASIN through Vendor Central follow the steps below:
Go to the Items tab and select Edit Products from the dropdown menu to get to the Edit Details page.
From the Edit Details page, select the ASIN you would like to edit.
Click on the Safety & Compliance tab.
Select EPA Registration Number or EPA Establishment Number from the drop down. If your pesticide product contains both numbers, is exempt from registration, or is not a pesticide as defined under the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, please select “EPA Registration Number”.
Select one of the following Pesticide Registration Status options from the dropdown menu:
This product is a pesticide or pesticide device, as defined under the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
This product is not a pesticide or pesticide device, as defined under the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
This product qualifies for an exemption from registration under the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
Enter the EPA Registration number or EPA Establishment number in the Pesticide Certification Number field (required for Pesticide & Pesticide Devices).
Click Submit and continue; you will see a message that “Your change request has been submitted”.
Vendor Central Bulk Product Pesticide Marking Updates
To submit pesticide markings for multiple products/ASINs in bulk through a Vendor Central Account follow the steps below:
Go to the Items tab and select Edit Products from the dropdown menu to get to the Edit Details page.
From the Edit Details page, paste the list of ASINs to edit into the “Refine By Field”.
Leave the “Date Range” fields empty and click “Search”.
Once the search results populate, click the Checkbox in the Grey Title Bar to highlight all ASINs and click “Bulk Download”.
Select EPA Registration Number or EPA Establishment Number from the Pesticide Marking attribute column. If your pesticide product contains both numbers, select “EPA Registration Number”.
Select one of the following options from the Pesticide Registration Status column:
This product is a pesticide or pesticide device, as defined under the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
This product is not a pesticide or pesticide device, as defined under the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. This product qualifies for an exemption from registration under the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
Enter the EPA Registration number or EPA Establishment number in the Pesticide Certification Number field (required for Pesticide & Pesticide Devices).
Save the file and click Upload products to upload your bulk product spreadsheet.
Once the file has been uploaded, check the status on the Submissions tab to see recently submitted spreadsheets.
Fix any errors if necessary by clicking Download and fix errors then upload the file again via Up. Fields with errors are highlighted.
After successfully adding your products, check their status by going to the Items tab and selecting Catalog.
Seller Central Individual Product Pesticide Marking Updates
Amazon Seller Central Pesticide Marking - Compliance Tab
Editing a single product listing there are 3 sections under compliance to input. Here are the sections to add information.
Pesticide Marking - the type of marking on the product or packaging
EPA Registration Number
EPA Establishment Number
Pesticide Registration Status - the status of the product. Here are the options
This product is a pesticide or pesticide device, as defined under the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
This product is not a pesticide or pesticide device, as defined under the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
This product qualifies for an exemption from registration under the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
Pesticide Certification Number
Seller Central Bulk Product Pesticide Marking Updates
To submit pesticide markings for multiple products/ASINs in bulk through a Seller Central Account follow the steps below:
Receive Category Listing Approval. To receive approval follow the steps below,
In Seller Central, select Inventory and click Add a Product.
Run a search for the ASIN or UPC/EAN you wish to sell.
In the search results, click the Listing limitations apply link across from the ASIN.
Click Request Approval to start the application process.
Once redirected to Seller University, complete the training with an 80% or higher score.
Once you have passed the training, click Continue from the Results page and click Exit the Course.
Once redirected to the application workflow, check the box to agree to the Guaranty and click Submit.
Alternatively, you can click this link to start the training using a sample ASIN (you are under no obligation to list against this ASIN, but can use it to trigger an approval request), then complete steps 5 through 7 above.
Once you have received Category Listing Approval, list your Pesticide or Pesticide Device product in your Seller Central account using the “Add a Product” or “Add a Product via Upload Tools”. Pesticide Marking information should not be submitted to Parent ASINs.
Once the product has been successfully listed, monitor your listing in your manager inventory menu.
If the product is a new Pesticide or Pesticide Device product that was previously not available on Amazon, Amazon’s Product Compliance team should at some point identify the product as a new Pesticide/Pesticide Device item and the product will be placed under pesticide review. While your listing is under review it will be inactive and unavailable for purchase. At that point Product Compliance will request Pesticide Marking Attribute information for the product. Once the information is provided to the Product Compliance team they will attribute it to the product, the Pesticide review will be lifted and your product will be available for purchase.
If the product is an existing product on Amazon that is currently offered by other sellers, the product may or may not be placed under Pesticide Review.
If the product has already had Pesticide Marking Attribute information submitted by another seller offering the product, the product will most likely not be placed under Pesticide review.
If the product has not had Pesticide Marking Attribute information submitted by another seller, your seller account offer may trigger a Pesticide review at which point you will be responsible for providing Pesticide Marking Attribute information.
Steps to Take So Amazon Does Not Misclassify a Product That is NOT a Pesticide or Pesticide Device
If your product is not classified as a Pesticide or Pesticide Device, there are proactive steps that you can take to reduce the chance that your product is incorrectly classified as a Pesticide or Pesticide Device and flagged for review. If a listing is flagged for pesticide review it will be moved to inactive and will be unavailable for purchase until the review is completed.
Amazon reviews product detail page content fields (Title, Bullet Points, Product Description, Backend Search Terms). If any of these fields contain terms or claims that Amazon associates with Pesticides or Pesticide Device products, the listing could be placed under pesticide Review and moved to inactive. Avoid using the claims or terms listing below in any of the fields mentioned above to minimize the chance of the product being flagged for Pesticide Review.
Avoid Using Pesticidal Claims and Terms in Product Detail Page Content if Product is NOT a Pesticide or Pesticide Device
Products that make any antimicrobial, antifungal, antibacterial, or other pesticidal claims (for example, products marketed to disinfect, repel insects, remove allergens, or prevent bacteria), may be considered pesticides or pesticide devices under EPA regulations, even if the products would not otherwise be considered pesticides or pesticide devices under the EPA’s definition of a pesticide. If pesticidal claims or terms are identified in your listing content or product packaging/labeling by Amazon the product will be classified as a pesticide. At that point, the product will be placed under Pesticide Review and the seller of the product will either need to supply Pesticide Marking information for the product or remove the identified Pesticide Claim or Term from listing content. During the Pesticide Review process, the product will be moved to inactive and will be unavailable for purchase until the review is completed.
To mitigate the chance of this situation occurring, avoid using the terms and claims listed below.
Pesticide Related Terms to Avoid:
Anti-Bacterial
Anti-Microbial
Sanitize
Sterilize
Any “cide” related term. For example Pesticide, Insecticide, Fungicide etc.
Additional Note:
Also using chemical names or terms associated with pesticidal products can result in your product being flagged as a pesticide or pesticide device.
Pay close attention to your backend keyword fields, while some of these terms may be related to your non-pesticidal product and provide some indexing benefit, the risk of pesticide review often outweighs the benefit that these terms provide.
Pesticide Related Claims to Avoid:
Cleans away, washes away or removes any pest
Cleans away, washes away or removes biofilm or scum (unqualified).
Cleans away, washes away or removes allergens (unqualified).
Cleans away or removes allergens associated with a pest (e.g., dust mite allergens, cockroach allergens).
Removes pests by suffocating or drowning.
Cleans or removes pest habitats or breeding sites.
Cleans, precipitates or removes contaminants, nutrients or matter that provide food or habitat for pests.
Cleans, reduces or removes scum or sludge where pests breed, feed or live.
Out-competes or displaces a pest for nutrition or habitat. Cleans or removes the habitat where biofilm, germs, allergens or microorganisms can hide, thrive or grow.
Prevents, blocks, removes, neutralizes or controls bacteria or other pests that cause odors.
Sanitizes, disinfects or sterilizes.
Images of pests or pest habitats (e.g., nest, hive or web) that imply cleaning or removal of pest habitats, or of nutrition or sources of nutrition for pests.
A banner, logo, design, header or any claim on a label or labeling, or through other means such as web sites, advertising, etc. that specifically links the cleaning product to pest control, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), pests or a specific kind of pest.
Examples of Claims that Are Not Considered Pesticidal:
Cleans or removes stains.
Cleans or removes stains from algae, mold, mildew or other non-public health organisms.
Cleans or removes dirt, soil, dust, debris, inanimate scum, inanimate nutrients, inanimate organic particulates, or inanimate contaminants.
Cleans a site (e.g., ponds, aquariums, etc.).
Prevents, blocks, neutralizes, reduces, eliminates, encapsulates or removes odors; deodorizes. Cleans, reduces or removes sludge. Cleans or removes inanimate scum such as “soap scum.”
Cleans, washes or prepares the surface for application of a registered disinfectant intended to kill biofilm.
Combines suspended inanimate particulates for easy removal by a filtration system.
Cleans away or removes inanimate dust-mite matter, non-living matter, or allergens from non-living sources (e.g., pet dander allergens, cockroach matter allergens, dust mite matter allergens) [These examples differ from the examples in the section on claims we consider to be pesticidal in that these indicate that the allergens come from non-living matter such as “pet dander,” “cockroach matter” and “dust mite matter.”
Monitor Your Inventory Regularly for Pesticide Review or Hazmat Review
Monitor your managed inventory regularly so that incorrect classifications can be appealed and corrected as soon as possible. You may receive little or no notification if a product is placed under pesticide review and made inactive. If the product is placed under review you will need to work with Amazon Associates to resolve the issue, before the product is made active and available for purchase.
To check if any of your products are under pesticide review
Click Manage Inventory
Select Inactive Listings
View the Inactive Listing breakdown in the left sidebar or the page
If any of your listings are under pesticide review, the SKUs impacted should be listed in that section.
Goat Consulting Disclaimer
Please check the website of the EPA, the current U.S. Code (U.S.C.), and the current Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) for the most up-to-date information. The information provided in this article is informational advice, it is not legal advice, should not be relied upon as legal advice. We cannot guarantee that the content will always reflect the latest updates to local, state, and federal legal advice. This information is not a substitute for reading FIFRA and EPA’s regulations. Please note that each state has specific pesticide requirements and should be reviewed based on your business's nexus.
Start a Conversation with Goat Consulting
If you are having trouble resolving issues related to pesticide review or approval we encourage you to reach out to Goat Consulting. We have worked through and resolved many situations related to pesticide review, Safety Data Sheet information management, and category approval. The best way to contact us, is to fill out a contact form.
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