Standards Development

Scope

This document is applicable to organic, organo-mineral and inorganic fertilizers which contain more than 1 % by mass of organic carbon, other than organic carbon from chelating or complexing agents, nitrification inhibitors, denitrification inhibitors or urease inhibitors, coating agents, urea or calcium cyanamide. This method is intended especially for sample preparation prior to microbiological examinations of e.g. E. coli, Salmonella spp. and enterococci.

This document is applicable to the fertilizing products blends where a blend is a mix of at least two of the following components: Fertilizers, Liming Materials, Soil Improvers, Growing Media, Inhibitors, Plant Biostimulants, and where the following category: organic fertilizers, organo- mineral fertilizers, inorganic fertilizer is the highest % in the blend by mass or volume, or in the case of liquid form by dry mass. If the organic fertilizer, the organo-mineral fertilizer or the inorganic fertilizer is not the highest % in the blend, the European Standard for the highest % of the blend applies. In case a fertilizing product blend is composed of components in equal quantity, the user decides which standard to apply.

This document specifies references to the methods for the:

— enumeration of enterococci;

— detection of Salmonella spp.;

— enumeration of Escherichia coli.

Purpose

In the frame of standardization request M/564, harmonized standards shall describe the test methods to be applied for verifying the conformity of CE-marked fertilizing products with the requirements set out in Regulation (EU) 2019/1009.

The proposed document shall cover the references to the relevant methods for the detection of specific pathogens of organic, organo-mineral and inorganic fertilizers as an "Umbrella Standard".