Cahier des charges proposé l’organisme GLOBAL GAP aux acteurs de la filière agricole et leurs conséquences sur l’épandage des boues.
Le SYPREA (syndicat des professionnels du recyclage en agriculture) a associé la FNCCR à une démarche conduite à l’échelle internationale, par des organismes producteurs de boues ou en charge de l’épandage ou de leur transformation, visant à modifier le cahier des charges utilisé aujourd’hui par les membres du GLOBAL GAP.
Le GlobalGAP constitue, à l’échelle internationale, un des principal réseau d’acteurs de la filière agricole utilisant un dispositif de certification de bonnes pratiques que les transformateurs/distributeurs imposent aux producteurs, lesquels accèdent en contrepartie à leurs marchés.
En l’état, les cahiers des charges de production édictés par les représentants de l’agro-industrie ou la grande distribution du GLOBAL GAP, interdisent le retour au sol des boues d’épuration et des produits qui en sont dérivés. Ce principe peut à court terme avoir de lourdes conséquences tant sur le secteur agricole français qu’à l’international et ainsi remettre en cause le principe d’un retour au sol des boues, brutes ou transformées, déjà bien menacé par la Loi pour l’équilibre des relations commerciales dans le secteur agricole et une alimentation saine et durable.
La FNCCR va co-signer le projet de modification des termes de ces cahiers des charges au regard des enjeux que représentent les boues. Je me permets toutefois de vous le transmettre en direct si vous souhaitez que votre collectivité y contribue en son nom propre.
Le document présentant la contre-proposition adressée au GLOBAL contient les coordonnées de la personne rassemblant les contributeurs, le document co-signé doit cependant être transmis avant le 10 septembre 2018.
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Résumé de la contre-proposition :
What is Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practices)?
It is a voluntary standard that food retailers use to have confidence in the agricultural practices and safety of food they buy from farmers. Farms are inspected and certified by Global GAP, allowing them to sell to Global GAP subscribing retailers. Global GAP started in Europe, but now is subscribed to by major retailers around the world, including Walmart and Costco. Some farmers who use biosolids and also sell internationally have run into issues, because the retailers they sell to require Global GAP certification and biosolids are not currently allowed under Global GAP.
SUMMARY of joint proposal to Global GAP:
The question to you all is whether or not we should endorse the recommendations (below) to try and get a foot in the door of GlobalGAP (GG). After further consultation with Lauren Fondahl, it appears the both Cadmium and Copper limits as proposed below would be an issue for many California Agencies (and presumably others across the US). However, we have been unsuccessful in persuading our European partners to modify them. The proposed limits are based on new commercial fertilizer standards in the EU and thus seen as critical to convince Global GAP to allow some biosolids.
There is currently a strict prohibition in GG against the use of biosolids. Therefore our decision is whether opening the door to lift that prohibition, even with stringent limits, is a good thing to do? As far as I can tell, this will apply only to land on which food crops for direct human consumption are grown under the GG program.
Also it is important to note that we are dealing with market confidence based on perception and not science. However, with several countries in the EU adopting such stringent standards on biosolids and the proposed limits on all commercial fertilizer as noted above, our options in the GG are very limited. Of note:
- GG is about going above and beyond regulations, so our proposal must do that to have any chance of being accepted, according to the EU representatives involved.
- The alternative to this latest proposal is the current status quo: a complete ban on all biosolids under GG, and
- The new proposed GG standard would go into effect in 2020 and last for 5 years (so there is time to prepare for it), and it could then possibly be further negotiated.
- The GG does allow the use of recycled water for irrigation purposes.
Specifically, we propose that the Global G. A. P. quality standard for biosolids includes the following four (4) criteria:
- Any use of biosolids by a producer involved in the Global G. A. P. program has to comply with applicable national, state/provincial, and local regulations. Most countries where biosolids are applied to soils have mature regulations with science-based standards. It would be cumbersome to detail and update regularly in the Global G. A. P. program all of these varied regulations and the changes they go through. And there is no need to duplicate the protective regulatory requirements. As its first line of ensuring the safety and integrity of crops grown with biosolids, Global G. A. P. can rely on national, state/provincial, and local regulations. For example, on any product sheet that accompanies any crop grown with biosolids, Global G. A. P. could require a certified statement that the biosolids delivered at the farm level comply with all applicable national, state/provincial, and local regulations and comply with additional Global G. A. P.standards, as discussed below.
- To further demonstrate increased protections and the value of Global G. A. P. certification, Global G. A. P. would require the use of biosolids that meet the highest quality standards, thus reducing the variability that naturally exists in regulations from country to country.
The following numerical limits on PTEs would be required for any biosolids used on lands growing crops for Global G. A. P. certification (Table 1). These limit values are in accordance with the ones proposed for soil improvers in the latest draft of the EU fertilizer regulation. (The regulation is in final draft form, but these numerical standards are unlikely to be changed and have been widely endorsed). Indeed the undersigned organizations recognize that biosolids and biosolids-derived products have to compete with standard soil improvers anyway.
The following limits will mean some biosolids in use today will not be useable under these Global G. A. P. criteria, because they do not meet the strict standards below. For example, the pathogen limits below mean that U. S. A. Class B biosolids (which contain some pathogens) would not be allowed under the Global G. A. P. program.
Table 1. Maximum allowable levels of PTEs in biosolids acceptable for use under Global G. A. P.
| Compound | Unit | Composted Biosolids | Other Forms of Biosolids |
| TRACE ELEMENTS | |||
| Cadmium | mg/kg | 4 | 8 |
| Chromium (total) | mg/kg | 80 | 160 |
| Mercury | mg/kg | 1 | 2 |
| Nickel | mg/kg | 50 | 100 |
| Lead | mg/kg | 120 | 240 |
| Arsenic | mg/kg | 40 | 80 |
| Copper | mg/kg | 450 | 900 |
| Zinc | mg/kg | 800 | 1600 |
| ORGANIC COMPOUNDS | |||
| PAH 16 | mg/kg | 6 | 12 |
| PATHOGENS | |||
| Salmonella | CFU | Absence in 25 g or 25 ml | |
| E Coli or Enterococcacae | CFU | 1000 in 1 g or ml | |
| IMPURITIES | |||
| Marcroscopic impurities (glass, metal, plastics > 2 mm) | g/kg | 3 | |
In addition to the limitation of PTEs in biosolids, a limit could be set regarding the accumulation of trace elements and persistent organic chemical contaminants that are spread on land. For this parameter, the most appropriate approach is to dictate the total cumulative amount of certain persistent contaminants that are spread on the same land over a 10-year period (Table 2). This would be another significant requirement above and beyond regulatory requirements. (And remember that, in most countries with mature biosolids programs, regulatory requirements provide full protection of public health and the environment!)
Table 2. Maximum allowable average annual addition of PTEs to soils from biosolids over ten years.
| Compound | Unit | Average flow over 10 years |
| TRACE ELEMENTS | ||
| Cadmium | kg/ha/yr | 0,15 |
| Chromium (total) | kg/ha/yr | 6 |
| Mercury | kg/ha/yr | 0,1 |
| Nickel | kg/ha/yr | 3 |
| Lead | kg/ha/yr | 15 |
| Arsenic | kg/ha/yr | 3 |
| Copper | kg/ha/yr | 12 |
| Zinc | kg/ha/yr | 30 |
| ORGANIC COMPOUNDS | ||
| PAH 16 | kg/ha/yr | 0,5 |
- To provide further assurance that the production, management, and monitoring of biosolids land applications are undertaken properly,the producer and/or the supplier of biosolids to a farm under the Global G. A. P. program shall be certified to ISO 9001 and/or ISO 14001 and/or an equivalent quality certification program such as the U. S. National Biosolids Partnership EMS/BMP program (Gold or Platinum level) or the U.K. biosolids program quality certification system (currently under development) and/or be committed to and actively working on obtaining any of these certifications within two years, and/or be a biosolids provider accredited by Global G. A. P. (if Global G. A. P. wants to develop a program for certifying biosolids providers that is equivalent to one of the existing programs).
- Quality monitoring and traceability are also key points to enhance confidenceof third parties in biosolids land application. Therefore the signatories to this proposal recommend to manage the production and the logistics of biosolids treatment and operations on a batch basis. There shall be at least one test per 2000 metric tons of final biosolids or biosolids-derived product; however, no more than 1 test shall be required per month – for a maximum of 12 tests, thus 12 batches, per year from any single biosolids production facility. A certificate of analysis for each batch, with indication of the batch reference, shall be given to the farmer or other landowner where biosolids are applied under the Global G. A. P. program.
To summarize: These four (4) proposed special Global G. A. P. requirements for the use of biosolids and biosolids-derived products on land where crops are grown under Global G. A. P. quality programs will provide large and significant further protections of soil and crop quality above and beyond current regulatory schemes. Such additional Global G. A. P. protections will ensure strong public confidence in the quality of crops grown with biosolids. Global G. A. P. will be able to argue strongly, from a comprehensive, scientific foundation, that it is advancing best agricultural practices, sustainability, and the Circular Economy by supporting recycling of organic matter and nutrients – especially phosphorus, recovery of other resources locally, and reduction of net carbon emissions..
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