For Release:  August 20, 2015

EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs has updated the Label Review Manual Chapter 17: Net Contents/Net Weight Statement to state that the net contents for bag-on-valve pesticide containers should be listed by weight instead of the earlier recommendation that the contents be expressed in terms of both liquid (volume) and weight. In “bag-on-valve” containers, the pesticide is contained in a bag, which is surrounded by pressurized gas within a larger canister. This revision is consistent with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recent model regulation. EPA also revised the online Pesticide Labeling Question and Answer document with respect to bag-on-valve products to make it consistent with the NIST position.
 
EPA suggests that pesticide registrants make changes to their product labeling by January 1, 2018, to parallel the date suggested by NIST. Registrants may make this change through non-notification, with some exceptions. See Pesticide Registration Notice 98-10 for details. 
 
EPA also added clarification in Chapter 17 for products sold in a carton containing multiple individual units. In addition to listing the net contents of the carton, the label may indicate the net weight and quantity of individual units within the carton. 
 
Both of these changes to the Label Review Manual clarify and consolidate existing guidance for pesticide applicants for registration, registrants, and label reviewers. A more detailed description of bag-on-valve containers is included in the Label Review Manual Chapter 17: Net Contents/Net Weight Statement.