Events like pandemics highlight the roles that regulatory agencies hold in our existence. As a chemical manufacturer, DeVere continually works to stay compliant and help our business partners stay compliant within the regulatory framework. This article lists the primary agencies that regulate our products and how we work with them.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/our-mission-and-what-we-do
DeVere has several EPA registered products. These sanitizers, disinfectants, and pesticides each come with an EPA registration number. Any product that says that it sanitizes, disinfects, or “kills 99.9%” has to be registered with the EPA.
The EPA highly regulates these products. DeVere has to submit all of our labels to the EPA for approval. We also have to be a registered EPA manufacturing site to make and package these materials. Each state is also responsible for certifying and licensing pesticide applicators, licensing businesses that manufacture, sell, or apply pesticides. Each state sets its own regulations and fee for these processes. DeVere has to register each of its pesticides in a state prior to selling in that state.
Learn more about how the EPA approves products for use against SARS-CoV-2 here: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2
Example products: Security Floor Sanitizer, Security Cleaner and Disinfectant, and Golden Sanitizer
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/information-drug-class/topical-antiseptic-products-hand-sanitizers-and-antibacterial-soaps
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary
DeVere manufactures a line of FDA products including hand sanitizers and topical sanitizers for animals. The FDA regulates any product that comes in direct contact with humans or animals.
These products are also highly regulated. DeVere has submitted each FDA product to the FDA and owns an accredited cGMP (Good Manufacturing Process) facility that manufactures these products.
Learn more about the differences in FDA and EPA jurisdictions here: Hand vs. Surface Sanitizers
Example products: Bac-San, Bac-Off, Fresh Foam Disinfectant Hand Soap
Department of Transportation (DOT)
https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/registration/registration-overview
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) regulates the transportation of hazardous materials (including some chemicals) in commerce. The main focus is to identify hazardous material and understand the hazards associated with those materials. DeVere must properly mark and identify the product as hazardous. The shipper must also identify the product on the shipping papers as hazardous. The carrier needs to be certified and in some cases properly marked on the truck sides with placards identifying the hazards on board.
DeVere properly labels all products during the manufacturing process. We are a certified shipper allowed to handle and ship hazardous materials. Finally, we use only certified carriers to deliver our products to our customers. It is the customer’s responsibility to make sure that they are properly trained to handle and ship hazardous chemicals as well.
DOT responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by reducing the restrictions on how we can ship alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Note that that relaxation of the regulation expired on October 31, 2020. Since May, DeVere has been shipping alcohol-based hand sanitizers in packaging that complies with the standard that went back into effect on November 1. Contact us to learn more about how to ship Bac-San or any other chemical product.
Kosher
There are several different kosher certification agencies that all abide by the same code.
While there are many certification agencies, we are partial to the agency we use (https://www.kosherwisconsin.com/) because they understand how our products are used in food production and food service and can work with us to make sure our ingredient sources meet their standards.
You can find DeVere’s certification and kosher product list here: Kosher certification (2021)
DeVere has over 50 certified kosher products to clean kosher food processing equipment and surrounding areas.
National Organic Program
There are numerous organic certifiers (e.g. MOSA and Oregon Tilth) that will certify an operation in accordance with the USDA National Organic Standard. The process is simple when it comes to the chemical end of things.
- Contact your organic certifier with a list of DeVere products that you would like to use, along with DeVere contact information.
- The certifier will contact DeVere and ask for information on each of these products.
- The certifier will then make their decision and report back to the operation on what products they can use and if there are any restrictions in their use.
Note #1: The certifier will not contact DeVere with their decision on products as they are specific to an operations certification.
Note #2: The certifier is approving the operation, not the product.
Registration with the Organic Research Materials Institute takes time and expense, but it makes it acceptable to use the certified product in most organic processes. Here is DeVere’s current OMRI certification: OMRI Cert.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Organic Products
https://www.usda.gov/topics/organic
As stated above, the USDA, among other things, sets the regulations for the National Organic Standard.
Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI)
https://www.omri.org/what-we-do
DeVere currently has Security Floor Treatment certified with OMRI.
OMRI verifies the substances used in organic production: fertilizers, pesticides, livestock health care products, processing aids, and a number of other products that organic farmers and processors rely on every day. Typically, an OMRI-certified product can be used in an organic process without additional certification steps.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) / Safety Data Sheets (SDS)
OSHA regulated employee safety and makes a great effort to make sure that employees are aware of the dangers associated with hazardous chemicals. DeVere has published Safety Data Sheets (SDS) on all of its products to help communicate possible hazards.
Here is a link to all of DeVere SDS: /safety-sheets/
This brief description of each section shows some of the requirements for all SDS: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3514.html
OSHA recently released a new, Global Harmonized System (GHS). Here is more information on that system: https://www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/
If you have any questions about any of these chemical regulatory agencies, please either see their websites linked above or contact us.