The making available on the Belgian market of a biocidal product is subject to European and Belgian legislation on biocidal products. In Belgium, biocidal products must have a valid authorisation or registration before they can be made available on the market.
For information on the applicable legislation or to submit an application for authorisation or registration, please contact:
FPS Public Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
Avenue Galilée 5/2
1210 Brussels
Email: info.biocides@health.fgov.be
Website: www.biocide.be
Notification to the Poison Centre
The authorisation or registration of a biocidal product and its notification to the Poison Centre are two separate but complementary regulatory procedures.
Authorisation, registration or any other regulatory procedure allowing a biocidal product to be placed on the Belgian market does not replace notification to the Poison Centre where such notification is required. Conversely, notification to the Poison Centre does not constitute authorisation to place the biocidal product on the Belgian market.
Where notification to the Poison Centre is required, it must be submitted after the product has obtained its authorisation or registration and at least 48 hours before it is made available on the Belgian market.
Biocidal products classified as hazardous
Biocidal products that are mixtures classified as hazardous on the basis of their effects on human health or their physical hazards must be notified to the Poison Centre when they are made available on the Belgian market.
The notification must comply with Annex VIII to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 and must be submitted using the harmonised Poison Centres Notification (PCN) format.
For more information, please visit: Notification of mixtures classified as hazardous.
Biocidal products not classified as hazardous
Biocidal products that are not classified as hazardous are, in principle, not subject to the mandatory notification requirements for hazardous mixtures laid down in the applicable legislation.
However, notification is strongly recommended so that the Poison Centre has the necessary information available in advance in the event of exposure or poisoning.
For these products, a voluntary notification may be submitted using the harmonised PCN format provided for in Annex VIII to the CLP Regulation, via the ECHA submission portal.
For more information, please visit: Voluntary notifications.
The person or company submitting the voluntary notification remains responsible for the notification and for updating it whenever the information needs to be amended.
Indicating the biocidal product authorisation number
To enable the Poison Centre to quickly identify PCN notifications relating to biocidal products authorised or registered in Belgium, please add an additional product name when submitting the notification, containing the following information:
BIO BE + product authorisation or registration number
Please note: Any biocidal product placed on the Belgian market must have an authorisation or registration number, which must appear on the product label, among other places.
Poison Centre emergency telephone number on the label
Article 28 of the Belgian Royal Decree of 4 April 2019, as amended in particular by the Royal Decree of 14 July 2024, provides that the labels of biocidal products must display the required information in a clearly legible and indelible manner, including the Poison Centre emergency telephone number: 070 245 245.
Useful links
- List of authorised biocidal products in Belgium
- CLP legal framework and guidance documents
Consult the legislation and guidance documents relating to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 (CLP) on the ECHA website.
ECHA CLP guidance documents - ECHA tools for poison centre notifications
ECHA provides the tools needed to prepare and submit notifications, including the PCN format, IUCLID, the UFI Generator and the submission portal.
ECHA tools – Poison Centres
Legal references
- BPR (Biocidal Products Regulation): Biocidal Products Regulation – legislation
- Royal Decree of 4 April 2019 concerning the making available on the market and use of biocidal products.
- Royal Decree of 14 July 2024 amending the Royal Decree of 4 April 2019 concerning the making available on the market and use of biocidal products.
.Glossary
Biocide
A substance or mixture intended to destroy, deter or render harmful organisms harmless, prevent their action or combat them in any other way, by means other than mere physical or mechanical action.
CLP – Classification, Labelling and Packaging
The European Regulation on the classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures.
ECHA – European Chemicals Agency
The agency of the European Union responsible, among other things, for implementing several European laws relating to chemicals.
PCN format – Poison Centres Notification
The harmonised format used to submit to poison centres the information required under Annex VIII to the CLP Regulation.
IUCLID – International Uniform Chemical Information Database
For poison centre notifications, companies can use IUCLID to prepare the required information and then submit it through the ECHA system.
REACH – Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals
The European Regulation concerning the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals.
UFI – Unique Formula Identifier
An alphanumeric code that links a product or marketed mixture to the composition information submitted to the Poison Centre.