Chemical search and filter tool

All sanitisers, disinfectants, and insecticides used on farm must be registered and/or approved for use by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA). They must always be used as per the label instructions.

Click here to be directed to a short demonstration on using the tool. 

Types of registered chemicals

Some chemicals may only be approved for use in “household settings” and while they may be considered appropriate for use in certain circumstances on farm (on expert advice only), these were excluded from the “search and filter” tool because they are not specifically approved for use on poultry farms and/or in agricultural settings.

Cleaning chemicals have been excluded from the “search and filter” tool because there are hundreds of potential cleaning compounds and products that could be used on poultry farms, and many do not need to be approved by the APVMA unless they are also registered as a sanitiser or disinfectant. However, some cleaning agents can provide a kill step to some of the target pathogens. Most cleaning agents contain surfactants and if they also contain an acid then they can be capable of deactivating some viruses and bacteria.

Reserved Chemicals

If you can’t find a chemical in the tool that you think should be a sanitiser or disinfectant then please visit  https://apvma.gov.au/node/172 to see if it is a “reserved chemical”. These chemicals are agvet chemicals reserved from registration but with usage as a sanitiser or disinfectant subject to specific conditions mentioned on the label. These chemicals may not be captured in the search and filter tool.

Definitions

Sanitiser: A chemical that reduces bacteria to a sanitary level on surfaces that food for human consumption comes in contact with. Kills bacteria only. 

Disinfectant: A chemical that kills bacteria and viruses on surfaces. 

Insecticide: A chemical that prevents, destroys, repels, or controls small invertebrate animals generally belonging to the class Insecta, also used for some arthropods such as spiders, mites, ticks, centipedes, or slaters.

Importance of using chemicals properly

The purpose of the “search and filter” tool is to help reduce the risk of chemical residues entering the food chain, and sanitisers, disinfectants and insecticides are a higher risk for this as they are applied after general cleaning and are often not rinsed off. There may be some cleaning chemicals that leave residues that may cause risks to animal and/or human health, particularly if not rinsed appropriately.

The efficacy of these products is very much dependant on how the surfaces have been cleaned and prepared prior to application. The effective removal of all loose organic material is one of the most important steps in cleaning as organic matter reduces the how well sanitisers, disinfectants, and insecticides work.

Further information

Further details for products, including their label details and directions for use, can be searched for using the APVMA ‘PUBCRIS’ tool https://portal.apvma.gov.au/pubcris. Details from PUBCRIS have been used to inform the information in the search and filter tool below. 

How to use the tool 

Product names have not been included in the search and filter tool.