Achievements of the Polish Enforcements in the Anti-Counterfeit Activities

Artur Łączyński Mirosława Konicka

Main Inspectorate of State Plant Health and Seed

Warsaw, 13th November, 2008

Overview of issue related to illegal trade with counterfeit ppp

• State Plant Health and Seed Inspection Service – structure

• Detection and proving the counterfeits of plant protection products (ppp), current findings and taken measures

• Risk at illegal ppp trade and use, problems at evidence collecting

• Organizations / authorities cooperating in proceedings on falsified ppp

• Future undertakings and conclusions

State Plant Health and Seed Inspection Service

SPHSIS is the national authority to supervise and control • Marketing and application of ppp• Plant health • Seed production

The major SPHSIS task is the elimination of potential threats coming from marketing and application of ppp

Organization of SPHSIS in Poland

• 16 voivodships include 379 poviats according to administrative division of the country

• 16 voivodship inspectorates include 271 field units and 12 border divisions

• Human resources – 2 200 staff members

voivodeship inspectorate

Organization structure of SPHSIS

Controls carried out by SPHIS in the domain of trade and use of plant protection products (ppp)

• PPP trade allowed only by registered entrepreneurs • Checking expiration dates, validity of approval for

trade and use of ppp’s • Controls of packages, etiquette-labellings and

documentation e.g. invoices, product origin and distribution

• Checking registers of purchasers of toxic and very toxic substances

• Control sampling and laboratory analysis on ppp quality (above 350 planned samples per year, and intervention samples according to needs),

• Controls of ppp application e.g. usage documentation, pesticide residues

Laboratory testing on quality of ppp

Accreditated Laboratory

of Institute of Plant Protection, SOŚNICOWICE Branch,

Laboratories testing on pesticide residues in plant products

• Institute of Plant Protection, Department of Pesticide Residue Research in POZNAŃ

• Institute of Plant Protection, Regional Experimental Station BIAŁYSTOK,

• Pesticide Residue Analyses Laboratory, Institute of Plant Protection, SOŚNICOWICE Branch

• Food Safety Laboratory, Research Institute of Pomology and Floriculture in SKIERNIEWICE

• Central Laboratory, Main Inspectorate of Plant Health and Seed Inspection in TORUŃ

Detected counterfeits in 2008 - tracing

Tracing of counterfeit ppp’s in trade• Controls in trading places • Controls on farms, end-users

Actions taken in 10 voivodships – dolnośląskie, kujawsko – pomorskie, lubelskie, łódzkie, małopolskie, mazowieckie, podkarpackie, śląskie, wielkopolskie, zachodniopomorskie

Controls on counterfeits: Controls on counterfeits: Nov. 2007 – Nov. 2008Nov. 2007 – Nov. 2008 (1) (1)

VoivodshipNumber of

proceedingsNumber of

controls in tradeNumber of controls

at end-usersdolnośląskie 1 69 1kujawsko - pomorskie 2 117 0lubelskie 1 3 4łódzkie 1 0 1małopolskie 5 76 2mazowieckie 3 178 28podkarpackie 4 226 0śląskie 1 0 1wielkopolskie 13 54 1zachodniopomorskie 9 137 54

Total 40 860 92

Controls on counterfeits: Controls on counterfeits: Nov. 2007 – Nov. 2008Nov. 2007 – Nov. 2008 (2) (2)

• The proceedings are not yet finished – full set of data unavailable

• Unequal distribution of counterfeits on the area of Poland – some regions much more exposed

• Frequent presence of counterfeits in the whole distribution chain (from distributors to end-users) – intervening post factum

Detected counterfeits in 2008 – the results of tested samples

SPHSIS took 50 samples of supposedly counterfeit ppp’s: 38 results of laboratory testing confirmed falsification, 5 samples analysis gave the negative results, following 7 samples are being tested;

Counterfeits concerned 24 ppp’s, mainly herbicides

Detected counterfeits in 2008 – the results of tested samples

Chemicals contained by counterfeit ppp’s– Unidentified substances – Active substances withdrawn from trade and use– Lowered or exceeded concentration of active substances– Impurities and by-products above standard– Herbicide instead of insecticide– Insecticide instead of glue – Composition as in original product – minor difference in

impurity levels (high quality counterfeits)

How would counterfeit ppp’s be introduced to the market ?

Counterfeit or unapproved products

from third countries

Legal products - diluted, misplaced

(e.g. herbicide in place of insecticide)

Falsified packages – frequently difficult to distinguish from original ones

Legal or illegal distributors – occasionally cheap products, on place delivery, often without invoices,

probably organized crime

End users - victims of counterfeits

but also likely accepting illegal trade with ppp’s because of competing prices

Unknown substances – toxic or nontoxic

e.g. paints, powder milk etc.

Evidence collecting - where do the signals about counterfeits come from?

• Complaints of ppp producers and distributors• Information from the custom control service• Proceedings carried out by police• Complaints of ppp users• Controls by SPHIS and other inspection services• Controls of collected ppp empty packages

Detection and proving the counterfeits of ppp - evidence collecting

Finding of unknown chemical substance –evidence collecting

Sampling and transport

Laboratory Analysis - results

Documentation inspection

Tracing a distribution network

Further undertakings – sanctions, court trials, information to end users and distributors

Contacting the ppp producer

Detailed information on packages, anti-counterfeit

protections etc

Hazards during and after illegal ppp’ s application

• Operator and neighbourhood poisoning

• Direct animal poisoning by uncontrolled drift

• Natural environment pollution with unknown substances e.g. soil and water resource contamination

• Economic losses e.g. inefficient control, crop destruction

• Jeopardy to consumer health by unsafe, contaminated food

• Animal feed contamination with detrimental effects on the food chain

Risks for distributors

• Contamination and poisoning e.g. leaky packages,

• Unfair competition,

• Risk of being involved in organized crime,

• Economic losses by dropping sales of original ppp’s,

• Growing unjustified bad reputation of certain ppp’s

Risks and problems at evidence collecting

• Possible contamination and poisoning of inspectors at sampling (especially from huge containers) and sample transportation

• Lack of traceability, difficulties at the evidencing of trade with counterfeit ppp’s

• Lack of well protected places for storage of arrested products

• Uncoordinated, inefficient actions

SPHIS cooperation with the other authorities and organizations

The authorities and organizations cooperating in fighting against ppp counterfeits:

• police, prosecutors’ offices• fire-brigade, • custom service, • border guard, • State Sanitary Inspection Service (SSIS), • Inspection of Road Transport Service, • Inspection of Environmental Protection Service,• Polish Association of Plant Protection,• ppp producers

Actions of SPHSIS in cooperation with the other authorities and organizations

• Meeting with representatives of competent authorities to establish cooperation

• Trainings together with the representatives of the other inspections / authorities

• Operational cooperation with police and prosecutors• Detailed analysis of claims from ppp distributors and users • Informing competent authorities and police about detected

infringements if necessary• Activities in cooperation with nongovernmental organizations

such as PSOR: organizing anti-counterfeit conferencesthe anti – counterfeit manual

Anti-counterfeit measures already introduced

• Detailed control on borders by custom control service

• Prosecuting economic crimes by police

• Detailed case analysis of ppp ineffectiveness or phytotoxicity by SPHISIS

• Information for operators and users (a leaflet, training, communications in media) concerning the risk of purchasing and applying unapproved ppp’s, which is expected to increase awareness of plant producers

• Extensive food safety control on pesticide residues by SPHSIS, SSIS

Future undertakings - SPHSIS

• Special procedures of proceeding with unknown substances during sampling and transportation

• Training of inspectors about procedures and using protective clothes (e.g. gasmasks)

• Increasing availability and using of protection clothes

Future undertakings – producers, distributors

• Introduced more effective anti-counterfeit protection by industry

• The improvement of traceability in trade

• More effective exchange of information with competent authorities about anti-counterfeit protections of products

Summary and conclusions

• Anti-counterfeit strategy can be realized only in cooperation among authorities from different resorts

• Better coordination of actions is a key issue to improve the effective fight with falsified ppp’s

• Awareness of hazards should be increased among end users

• Intensive preventive action is required to keep falsified ppp out of end user range

Thank you for your attention!

www.piorin.gov.pl