Who controls pesticides?

Pesticides can only be used if they are approved
 

To get approval the manufacturer must demonstrate to both European and UK Government Ministers that they can be used safely and that food treated with them is safe to eat. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs control agricultural pesticides, whilst the Health and Safety Executive control non-agricultural pesticides.

A manufacturer has to apply for approval to the Pesticide Safety Directorate (PSD), an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. They are responsible for processing applications for approval of all pesticides for use in agriculture, horticulture and gardening.

The application has to be supported by a dossier of information detailing the proposed use of the pesticide and providing supporting data to show its effectiveness, how poisonous it is (in the short and the long term) its cumulative effects (whether it builds up in the body or the environment), its effect upon watercourses and aquatic life and small mammals plus any other effects it may have after a period of time.
 
More complex applications are then passed to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides, part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The data has to convince the committee that the pesticide will not harm consumers, farmed or domestic animals, or have any harmful effects on the environment.
 
The pesticide company must then seek approval in Europe, the PSD will then act as a lead member state to support the application - the final decision lies with the EU Commission who are advised by the European Food Safety Agency. 

A full review of all 905 pesticides in the E.U. began five years ago. If new scientific evidence raises questions regarding the safety of a pesticide, the pesticide can be banned for use within the E.U.