New EU OMAR testing requirements
During April 2016 a new Overseas Market Access Regulation (OMAR) was approved by MPI which will mean some changes to the tests we perform for exporting companies. The following is a list of confirmed changes.
- The first big change is that there are new names for the test-suites:
- The previous Check Monitoring suite is now called Group A
- The previous Audit monitoring suite is now called Group B
The newly named Group A suite of tests includes:
- E. coli
- Conductivity
- Coliform bacteria
- pH
- Colony Count at 22⁰C
- Nitrite
- Colour
- Aluminium
- Turbidity
- Ammonium
- Odour (on-site test)
- Clostridium perfringens
- Taste (on-site test)
- Iron
The only difference is that the enterococci test has been removed, and colony count at 22⁰C has been added.
The newly named Group B suite of tests has seen the removal of four organic compounds
- Diquat
- Permethrin
- Diazinon
- Bentazone
The following seven compounds have been added, and these must be included in the laboratory test-suite by 1 November 2016.
- Aldicarb
- Isoproturon
- Molinate
- Primisulfuron-methyl
- Propazine
- Pyriproxifen
- Terbacil
These changes affect the 5-Yearly pesticides screen.
The removal of the Diquat test from the requirements will reduce the price of the 5 yearly pesticide testing.
