Pomegranates to Get Chemical Labeling Soon

Randall Weiseman Specialty Crops

Cindy Weinstein, president of the Florida Pomegranate Association, says that new chemical labeling for pomegranates is in the near future for Florida and the southeast United States. The only thing separating the pomegranates from the labeling is the Inter-Regional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4 Project) and the residue tests necessary to tell if the chemicals are working properly on the crops.

According to the project’s website, the IR-4 Project has been established since 1963 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service in coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency. The project’s purpose was to assist in the collection of residue and efficacy data in support of the registration or re-registration of minor use pesticides and the determination of tolerances for residues of minor use chemicals in or on raw agricultural commodities.

Weinstein says her association is working with the IR-4 Project to get two chemicals labeled for fungus by the end of the year. She spoke about the chemical labeling process and how she sees it all coming together this upcoming year.