1 april 2019
The RHP quality mark for substrates is reviewed every year, in part based on developments in the field. Changes to the content of the RHP product certification scheme are therefore made every year. As of 1 May the new norms apply. What are the changes this year?
The most important decisions of the Central Board of Experts are explained below. Certified companies need to have introduced all the current requirements of the RHP certification scheme in their quality management system before the 1 May.
This module describes the general product requirements for the fields of application RHP Horticulture and RHP Consumer. A description of the system for phytosanitary safety is new. With an on-site risk inventory the phytosanitary risk level is determined for every raw material (e.g. wood fibre, compost) or its component (e.g. wood chips, vegetable waste derived from planting and maintaining private and public green areas, forests and nature areas and watercourses). There are six risk levels in which a raw material or component can be categorised. The risk level determines the frequency of the risk inventory and whether or not a raw material or component needs to complete a mandatory hygienisation process. A phytosanitary safe substrate minimizes the risks for the culture.
The composition of consumer potting soils changes and the fraction of renewable raw materials increases. This situation has led to a new possibility to assess aspects such as product quality, growth and safety of the RHP Consumer products. In this new module the new method is described. Potting soils need to be produced with known and controlled raw materials. In this way the RHP Consumer quality mark remains the foundation of controlled quality, safe products and positive experiences for consumers. Apart from this new procedure, the existing control system (module 730) remains in use. This means that a certified company can choose between the two procedures.
| Module | Change |
| 210 | The system for phytosanitary safety is added. |
| 270 | For B and BE products a packaging label is made available. |
| 300 | The C product “packed biological products for protecting, fertilizing or improving the growth” will be removed from the list as of 1-2-2020, after a transition year. |
| 300, 310, 320 | The definition of A products has been revised. |
| 340, 350 | The product requirements concerning phytosanitary requirements have been worded differently. |
| 400 | Correction of required methods: “M25 and M26”, was “M25/M26”. |
| 400 | Frequency of sampling CRF has been changed to 1/3 of the products that are produced under RHP certification (was 17 products per year). |
| 430 | The norm for calcium carbonate has become an indicative norm. |
| 460 | The legibility of the norms has been improved. |
| 490 | The suppliers assessment needs to be executed at least every 3 months. Apart from that, affairs such as name and address data need to be registered. |
| 560, 570 | Norms for the temperature of the peat and the procedure of measuring have been included in these modules. The norms for the lime demand, the moisture content and organic matter have been reviewed. |
| 570 | The weed norms have become stricter. |
| 600 | The method for the analysis of heavy metals has been changed. |
| 610 | The legibility of this module has been improved. |
| 640 | This module has been removed. |
| 730 | The maximum P concentrations have been raised. |
| 731 | New module for end products Consumer based on performance. A new control system applies, in which the dosage constraints have been removed and the bio assay plays a role. The existing control system remains applicable, a participant is free to choose between the two. |
This news item states the main changes in the scheme. See My RHP for a detailed look at all the changes in the RHP product certification scheme. As of February, all the changed modules can be found here. The modules that have been changed are displayed in red in the table of contents (MOD 000). Edited texts in the modules are also marked red.
Do you not have a personal account for My RHP yet? As an employee of an RHP certified company you can easily create one for yourself through my.rhp.nl.
