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Fwd: Green Industry Container Alert

FYI



The following release from the Pennsylvania Nursery and Landscape Association (PNLA), in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA), outlines labeling, signage, and advertising directives that take effect April 1, 2004, for ornamentals retailed to Pennsylvania consumers. Over the next 2 years, floriculture and nursery industries nationwide (US), in cooperation with National Institute for Standards and Testing (NIST), will be developing and implementing new standards that will allow consumers to better evaluate and compare ornamentals. Please see the attached PNLA Release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		CONTACT:	Lisa Nicholas
March 19, 2004				(717) 238-1673

PDA TO MOVE FORWARD WITH INSPECTION OF NURSERY CONTAINERS ON APRIL 1, 2004

HARRISBURG, PA ? The Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association (PLNA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) have been working together to resolve issues regarding the sale of hanging baskets and other nursery containers that do not equal their advertised measure, whether linear (in inches) or Imperial (quart, gallon, etc.). Both PLNA and PDA realize that this matter must be settled so that businesses are able to come into compliance with Pennsylvania?s current weights and measures regulations (70 Pa. Code, Chapters 21-27).

In a September 2003 official notice to the landscape and nursery industry, the PDA indicated that it would begin inspections and enforcement on April 1 of this year and is proceeding with that course of action. In order to ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page with regard to what the PDA is requiring from the industry, PLNA, the American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) and the Society of American Florists (SAF) have been engaged in discussions with the PDA. As a result of these discussions, PDA has issued the following guidelines with respect to enforcement of the Pennsylvania weights and measures regulations:

Initial enforcement and inspection efforts will focus on permanent plant containers, such as hanging baskets and planters. Advertising, signage and labeling of these containers must be accurate according to their inside diameter or Imperial measure.

Containers having dimensions that are molded into the container and are temporary in nature (such as containers that are typically used to transfer plant material to the consumer and then discarded after planting by the consumer) will not be subject to fines pending implementation of uniform national labeling standards in cooperation with the National Institute for Standards and Testing (NIST). The goal for development of an action plan for these standards is September 1, 2004, with a compliance deadline of April 1, 2006, to allow for depletion of existing inventories and to provide time for container manufacturers to change container molds.

Temporary container labels that are not molded into the container will not be subject to fines until April 1, 2005 (after the implementation of the labeling standards), to allow for depletion of existing inventories and the redesign and printing of acceptable labels.

Advertising and signage must accurately describe container sizes (whether permanent or temporary containers) according to either their Imperial measure or their linear inside dimension. Containers do not have to contain a label regarding container volume or size until April 1, 2006.

Use of the ANSI Z60.1 standard for nursery containers (i.e., #1, #2, etc.) will be acceptable until April 1, 2006, for referring to container sizes that fall within those standards. The ANSI Z60.1 container size must be displayed at the point of sale when used in retail settings.

The PDA?s enforcement process will be to warn and eventually fine, if a warning does not lead to compliance.

If you have any questions or concerns with regard to what you need to do in order to achieve compliance, please contact Lisa Nicholas or Gregg Robertson of PLNA at 800.898.3411 or Ken Deitzler, Chief of Weights and Measures, PDA, at 717.787.9089. For additional information, visit www.plna.com.

# # #

The Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery Association (PLNA) is the leading trade association representing Pennsylvania?s $3.1 billion ornamental horticulture industry. Founded in 1904, its 750 members include production nurseries, garden centers, landscape designers, landscape maintenance firms, arborists, interiorscape firms, florists and other private sector companies in Pennsylvania?s rapidly growing green industry. 

jems
--
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
Garden writer, speaker, photographer
Director, Region III Garden Writers Association
Phone: 317.251.3261
Fax: 317.251.8545
E-mail: hoosiergardener@earthlink.net
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