Guidance on labelling requirements for biocides: Principal display panel

This section explains the labelling requirements for the principal display panel (PDP) of all biocides as set out in the Biocides Regulations (regulations). The labelling requirements apply to both the inner label and outer label of your biocide. If there's no outer label, the information required to appear on the outer label must be on the inner label.

On this page

• About the principal display panel
• Brand name
• Intended use or purpose (claim)
• Intended settings for use
• Identification number and "DIN" designation
• Net quantity in the package
• Precautionary statements
• Aspects of safety labelling

About the principal display panel

The PDP (or main panel) of the label is the part that's on or attached to all or part of the surface of the package that's displayed or visible under normal conditions of sale or use. In other words, this is the label on the part of the package that purchasers and users would normally see.

If the package does not have a surface that meets this definition, the PDP is the part of the label that's on or attached to any part of the package except the bottom.

For biocides with only a PDP, you must also include on it the information outlined in the other information required on inner and outer labels section.

You must include the following information on the PDP of your inner and outer (if there's an outer) biocide label:

• brand name
• at least 1 of the intended uses or purposes
• intended settings for use
• identification number preceded by "DIN" in capital letters
• net quantity in the package
• the statements "Keep out of reach of children" and "Tenir hors de la portée des enfants"
• sterile indication (if applicable)
• aspects of safety labelling (hazard symbol, signal words and primary hazard statements) for biocides packaged in designated containers

More information on safety labelling can be found in the hazard classification criteria and precautions section.

Brand name

The brand (product) name under which your biocide is to be sold or advertised must be indicated on the PDP of the label.

The brand name must not create a misleading impression of the biocide. To meet this requirement, it must be unique.

You should verify the uniqueness of your biocide's proposed brand name before you submit your application. You can search the following databases to help you:

• Drug Product Database
• Pesticide Labels Database

We must approve your biocide's brand name before it's included on the label. If you want to sell the same biocide under an additional brand name that hasn't been authorized for the product, you must file a post-authorization minor change notification to include that brand name.

An application for market authorization of a biocide may contain multiple brand names for a single product (each with its own separate brand name). However, the label text provided in the application can contain only the primary brand name or list all brand name options. The marketed label must only show 1 brand name.

Consult the following guidance documents for more information:

• Guidance for post-authorization changes for biocides
• Guidance on biocide application pathways and general requirements

Intended use or purpose (claim)

You must indicate at least 1 of the intended uses or purposes of your biocide on the PDP of your biocide label. This is important, as purchasers and users need to be able to easily distinguish your biocide from other products that may have similar packaging, such as:

• a cleaner
• a hand sanitizer or
• other consumer products
  • for example, in the case of a biocide towelette, a baby wipe or personal cleansing wipe

Users may misuse your product if the information on the PDP does not clearly indicate 1 of the intended uses or purposes. Misuse may lead to notable or serious incidents.

The intended use or purpose of the biocide located on the PDP may be a single word or combination of words (as applicable):

• toilet bowl disinfectant
• (hard- or soft-surface) sanitizer
• (hard- or soft-surface) disinfectant or
• (hard- or soft-surface) disinfectant-sanitizer

Examples of additional words that may be included are:

• virucide
• sporicide
• fungicide
• bactericide
• mildewcide
• mycobactericide

You can meet this requirement by including 1 of the uses in the brand name. For example, if the brand name contains the term "disinfectant", you don't need to repeat this term on the PDP.

Intended settings for use

You must include the settings (described in a single word or combination of words) on the PDP of your label. If the setting is included in the brand name, you don't need to repeat it on the label.

It's important to include the settings in which your biocide is to be used on the PDP. Directions for use, intended uses or purposes and risk information often differ between household biocides and those used industrially. This is because training and occupational exposure differ in these 2 settings.

There are 2 categories of settings (domestic and commercial). The domestic category includes 1 main setting (household), while the commercial category includes 4 main settings. Table 1 lists the 5 main settings. All main settings (except household) have multiple sub-settings.

Identification number and "DIN" designation

We assign an 8-digit identification number when we approve a biocide for sale in Canada. This number must be indicated on the PDP of the label. It's used to track the biocide.

The 8-digit number must be preceded by the designation "DIN". This designation distinguishes the identification number from the lot number and expiry date.

Net quantity in the package

You must indicate the net quantity of your biocide in the package on the PDP of the label.

The net quantity must be in a unit that's appropriate for the physical form of the product, as a:

• numerical count or
• unit of measurement
  • set out in Schedule I of the Weights and Measures Act

For example:

• biocides packaged as liquids should be expressed using metric volume units
  • such as litre (L) or millilitre (mL)
• biocides packaged as powders, solids and aerosol sprays should be expressed using metric mass units
  • such as gram (g) or kilogram (kg)
• biocides packaged as towelettes and tablets should be declared by numerical count and size
  • number in the package and their size or weight

If there are multiple containers of the same biocide included in 1 package, the PDP of the outer label of the package should specify both the:

• number of containers in the package (numerical count) and
• net quantity (by unit of measurement) of the individual containers within the package

For example:

• 3 x 250 mL (1 container has a net quantity of 250 mL and there are 3 containers in the package)

Precautionary statements

Biocides contain chemical compounds that can be harmful to children. To address this concern, your biocide label must contain the following English and French statements on the PDP:

• "Keep out of reach of children."
• "Tenir hors de la portée des enfants."

Your biocide label may contain information that a user may neglect to read. This can lead to a user misusing the biocide, failures in effectiveness, accidental exposure of the biocide to children and other safety issues. To address this, we also recommend that your biocide label contain the following English and French statements on the PDP:

• "Read the label before using."
• "Lire l'étiquette avant utilisation."

We also recommend that these precautionary statements be written in all capital letters for emphasis.

Aspects of safety labelling

For designated containers, aspects of safety labelling are required on the PDP of your biocide's label to reflect some of the biocide's risks to purchasers and users, as applicable.

Aspects of safety labelling include:

• hazard symbols
• signal words
• primary hazard statements

Safety labelling required for designated containers

A designated container is:

• metal
• disposable
• designed to release pressurized contents
• for manual operation using a valve that is an integral part of the container

Designated containers may:

• release a flame resulting from the ignition of a biocide when discharged
  • when this occurs, there is a flame projection
• have a flashback
  • this is the part of the flame projection that extends from the point of ignition back to the designated container
• explode if punctured or heated

To determine if your biocide has a flame projection or a flashback, you must test it using the following method DO-30 (dated October 15, 1981):

• Official method: Determination of flame projection

To help ensure that the biocide is safely used and stored, designated containers require additional safety labelling on the PDP, as outlined in the regulations. For more information, consult:

• Labelling requirements for pressurized containers containing biocides

You should consult this document to identify requirements on:

• size of hazard symbols
• text formatting (size, style and type)
• placement of hazard symbols and text on the label

Biocides packaged in designated containers must include on their PDP:

Biocides packaged in designated containers that have a flame projection or flashback must include on their PDP:

Biocides with a flame projection of 100 cm or longer pose increased risk to the user, especially if the user doesn’t have adequate training. Therefore, we do not recommend that a biocide with a long flame projection be indicated for use in household settings, as its risks may not outweigh its benefits.

Also, the risks associated with packaging a biocide in a pressurized container (whether metal, disposable or other) should be mitigated by appropriate safety labelling.