The European Fine Chemicals Group (EFCG; Brussels, Belgium; www.efcg.cefic.org) has launched its new “Voluntary Guidelines for ISO-regulated Fine Chemical Manufacturers.” The Voluntary Guidelines were originally developed by the Agrochemical Intermediates’ Manufacturers in Europe (AIME) — a sub-section of EFCG — as a proposed set of minimum requirements for global manufacturers of agrochemical intermediates and active ingredients. AIME chairman, Uwe Brunk of Saltigo, says that all EFCG’s non-GMP manufacturers have since agreed to adopt them.
Brunk also says that “the initial driver for the Voluntary Guidelines was the need to manage better the risks in the food-supply chain resulting from the globalization of the manufacture and supply of agrochemical intermediates and active ingredients given the increased involvement of players from the emerging markets.” He also believes that “the worldwide adoption of these Voluntary Guidelines will help improve the global standards of manufacture and distribution of all non-GMP fine chemicals”.
The next steps, he says, were to raise awareness of the Voluntary Guidelines beyond crop protection to other non-GMP fine chemical markets and to develop and test a quality audit template firstly within AIME and EFCG members and their customers. EFCG / AIME then plan to engage with national and global chemical manufacturing organizations and stakeholders, including those in China, India, U.S. and Japan, to help build a network of users worldwide.