How We Write Label Claims
Vegalab writes biosecurity claims to the pesticide and disinfectant rules, not to marketing habit. We name pests, never the diseases they carry; we make no safety claims; we use measured language where our data are thin; and we mark development uses clearly until the label covers them.
Words we do not use
Federal rules treat safety claims on pesticide labeling as false or misleading, regardless of how the product performs. We therefore make no claims of product safety, absence of toxicity or natural purity for any pesticide or disinfectant, and we avoid the specific terms listed in 40 CFR 156.10(a)(5)(ix). Those rules apply to websites and promotional material as well as labels, because EPA treats claims made for a product in any medium as part of its labeling. Instead, a label states hazards, precautions, first aid and directions, and lets those speak.
Pests, not diseases
A product may say it controls ticks, mosquitoes or cockroaches where the label supports it. It may not link that control to a disease or human-health outcome. For minimum-risk products such a claim voids the 25(b) exemption. Our pest library pages describe pest biology; any disease information is kept educational and separate from product pages. For Vetpure Disinfectant, named pathogen claims appear only where the registration in that jurisdiction lists them.
Efficacy language and development status
Where we hold robust efficacy data, we state the result and the source. Where data are thin we say reduces or aids in the suppression of, and we do not quote kill percentages we do not hold. Crop products cross-listed for premise use carry their current crop label; premise and structural uses are described as in development until a label amendment and state acceptance are in place, and we never publish off-label rates.
Key facts
- Claims as to the safety of a pesticide or its ingredients, including safe, non-poisonous, non-injurious or harmless, are false or misleading (40 CFR 156.10(a)(5)(ix)).
- Minimum-risk products may not claim to control microorganisms that pose a threat to human health, or insects or rodents carrying specific diseases (40 CFR 152.25(f)(3)(ii)).
- EPA's list of pests of significant public health importance guides which claims trigger public health review (EPA PR Notice 2002-1).
- Selling or distributing a pesticide with claims that differ substantially from those accepted at registration is unlawful (FIFRA sec. 12(a)(1)(B), 7 U.S.C. 136j).
How our delivery technology applies
Encapsulation creates a specific claim risk: it is tempting to say it makes an active safer or longer lasting. We claim only the delivery property we have measured, such as purity and solution stability for Vetpure Disinfectant, and describe residual extension for botanicals as a trial hypothesis until data are published.
Distributors and editors: request the Vegalab claim style sheet.
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