. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/FRA/111 
3 March 2010 
 (10-1171) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   French 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  FRANCE
 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):  
2. Agency responsible:   
Ministère de l’Alimentation, de  l’Agriculture et de la Pêche  (Ministry of Food, Agriculture 
and Fisheries) 
Direction Générale de l’Alimentation  (General Directorate of Food and Nutrition) 
Service de la prévention des risques sanitaires de la production primaire  (Service for the 
Prevention of Health Risks in Primary Production) Sous-Direction de la qualité et de la protection des végétaux  (Department of Plant 
Protection and Quality) 251 rue de Vaugirard – 75732 Paris cedex 15  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers and e-mail and website 
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be  indicated if different from above:  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [ ], 5.6.2 [ ], 5.7.1 [ ], other:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in  addition, where applicable):   Growing media and 
fertilizers (designations, sp ecifications and labelling) 
5. Title, number of pages and lang uage(s) of the notified document:   Arrêté modifiant 
l’arrêté du 5 septembre 2003 portant mise en application obligatoire de normes (Order 
amending the Order of 5 September 2003 est ablishing the mandatory implementation of 
standards) (3 pages).  The standards con cerned are French Standard NF U 44-551/A4 
(5pages) and NF U 42-001/A10 (11 pages). 
6. Description of content:   The notified Order provides for the following mandatory 
amendments to two standards: 
- Amendment A4 to Standard NF U 44-551 of May 2002 on growing media, which 
introduces the possibility of marketing growing media mixed with three types of additive 
that have been authorized for such use:  Humic substance, microbial preparation, and 
plant growth and/or development stimulator; 
- Amendment A10 to Standard NF U 42-001 of December 1981 on fertilizers, which 
replaces amendment NF U 42-001/AM2 of June 1992.  This amendment modifies Class V (paragraph 4.5, organic nitrogen fertili zers) and Class VI (paragraph 4.6.1, NPK, 
NP and NK fertilizers entirely of animal or vegetable origin). G/TBT/N/FRA/111 
Page 2  
 
  7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:
Standards dealing with fertilizing substan ces and growing media seek to facilitate the 
marketing of known products.  Such standard s are mandatory for public health reasons.  
8. Relevant documents:  
• Standard NF U44-551 (May 2002); 
• Standard NF U 42-001 (December 1981):  Fe rtilizers – Designations and specifications, 
supplemented by amendments No. 1 (February 1991), No. 2 (May 1984) and No. 5 (July 1991); 
• Standard NF U 42-001/A8 (December 2006):  Fertilizers – Designations and 
specifications; 
• Standard NF U 44-551 (May 2002): Growing media – Designations, specifications and 
labelling, and amendments NF U 44-551/A1 (February 2004) and NF U 44-551/A3 (January 2008). 
9. Proposed date of adoption:  
Proposed date of entry into force: } June 2010 
10. Final date for comments:   31 May 2010 
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry  point [X] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and website addresses,  if available, of other body:  
National enquiry point 
CINORTECH AFNOR 11 avenue Francis de Pressensé 
93571 SAINT-DENIS-LA PLAINE cedex 
Also available at:  http://members.wto.org/crnatt achments/2010/tbt/fra/10_0907_00_f.pdf
 
and http://members.wto.org/crnatt achments/2010/tbt/fra/10_0907_01_f.pdf