# Fumigating grain bins: clearance, crop records and dispatch evidence URL: https://leafwrit.com/uk/crop-batch-traceability/ Reviewed: 2026-10-29 **Link every dispatched crop batch back to its growing location, harvest date and production records.** For Red Tractor Fresh Produce members, this is part of Traceability and Assurance under the [current standards](https://redtractor.org.uk/assurance/standard-categories/fresh-produce/). **TI.1** requires batch identification linking the growing location and harvest date to crop production records. Include glasshouses, polytunnels and process steps such as long-term storage in the traceability chain. Carry the location identifier through those movements. Under **TI.2**, record bought-in seed or plants with supplier, variety, batch number and quality information. Under **TI.3**, reconcile quantities produced, stored or purchased with outgoing quantities and waste. Test the traceability system annually. The assessment visit does not replace the member's annual test. For crops such as potatoes and apples, reasonable harvested-weight estimates may be used in the traceability exercise where precise batch weights are unavailable. Support them with evidence accounting for sales, storage and waste or disposal. ## GLOBALG.A.P. fresh-produce evidence **Choose the GLOBALG.A.P. IFA edition required by the buyer before assembling the pesticide dossier.** Customer requirements usually determine the edition. ### Version and evidence requirements **IFA v6.1 Smart was published on 1 September 2026**. Validity and replacement dates are to be communicated separately. Under **IFA v6.0 Smart**, section **32.02**, record the reason for each application: target pest, disease, weed or condition. Preharvest-interval evidence links application records to actual crop-harvest dates. The certification body must verify correction of noncompliances before issuing a certificate. ## Grain store insecticide: hygiene, drying and monitoring first **A grain store needs hygiene, drying, cooling and monitoring before a pesticide choice is made.** A treatment of the building fabric is different from treatment of the grain itself, and a completed fumigation does not provide lasting protection against reinfestation. Grain destination and buyer requirements also affect the available options. ## Prepare the building before intake **Remove grain residues and repair water-entry points before filling a grain store.** Even small quantities of grain feed storage pests. Manage **moisture, temperature and cooling** together. Monitor from before intake through storage to final dispatch. For persistent or widespread infestation, consider an approved building-fabric treatment at the manufacturer's rate. Cleaning removes food sources, repairing water ingress stops moisture entry, and drying and cooling change the environment within the bulk. A treatment that kills insects already present does not repair a wet building or replace temperature management. ## Grain bin insecticide and grain weevil insecticide: fabric, admixture and desiccant ### What the treatment classes do **Fumigants** penetrate and disinfect static bulks, with **no lasting activity**. **Diatomaceous earth** is a physical siliceous dust that desiccates insects and mites. It can restrict grain flow when used through the entire bulk and cannot readily be removed from grain. Some supply chains reject diatomaceous earth because of dust, machinery and handling concerns. Maintain an effective **drying and cooling regime** for longer-term control. Decide whether you treat the building, the grain bulk or the surface layer: a product used on the building surface is not automatically suitable for admixture. Residual insecticides may provide prolonged protection; performance depends on the surface and temperature. Existing infestations may take time to control, particularly at lower temperatures. Grain weevils may be comparatively slow to control. ## Fumigation of food grains: fumigating grain bins requires specialist clearance **Fumigation uses gaseous pesticides or biocides and needs a controlled handback before reoccupation.** Exposure can cause serious or fatal injury. ### Clearance certificate The fumigator in charge signs a **clearance certificate** after the operation is complete and areas are shown safe for reoccupation. Keep barriers and warning signs in place until that stage. The certificate records return of the site to the owner or occupier. Prepare **three clearance-certificate copies**: one for the owner or representative, one for the safety representative where appointed, and one for the fumigator's records. HSG251 covers fumigation of grain in silos, with the notifications needed when hydrogen cyanide or phosphine is used. For silo fumigation, the clearance process establishes when the treated place can be handed back. In an enclosed vessel, resealing can allow residual gas to accumulate after ventilation. Ventilation may be needed again before later entry. ## Phostoxin grain treatment: read the label of the exact pack Phostoxin is an aluminium phosphide product that releases phosphine (56.0 % w/w), authorised in Great Britain under MAPP 17000. Its 2018 GB label restricts the plant-protection use to rat, mole and rabbit control, outdoors, so it does not describe a stored-grain treatment. Read the label of the pack you hold and the product's HSE entry before calling any phosphine job a grain treatment; fumigating grain in a silo is the clearance-certificate operation described above. ## Grain fumigation services and grain bin fumigation companies: certificate and documents to check **Ask the contractor for three documents before the date is fixed: the fumigator's certificate, the written authorisation for the fumigant and the notification plan.** The clearance certificate, covered above, is the fourth and comes at the end of the job. **Certificate and training.** Fumigators and fumigators-in-charge should take part only if they are competent and properly trained in the safe use and disposal of the fumigant, the safety precautions and emergency action. Professional users of pesticide products must hold a specified certificate of competence. For a professional biocidal product the law sets no certificate requirement, so ask for the fumigator's training record instead. **Written authorisation.** Some fumigants can be used only by fumigators with specific training or within a stewardship scheme. The employer then issues a written authorisation that gives a full account of the training received and states the extent of the duties. The employer keeps a record of each fumigator's authorisation. **Notification.** When hydrogen cyanide or phosphine is used, the law requires certain people to be notified in advance, including the local council, the police and the Fire and Rescue Service. Notification goes out as early as possible and at least 24 hours ahead, unless a shorter period is agreed with those notified. ## Post-harvest treatment and the outgoing load **Use the AIC Combinable Crops Passport, version 01/25, for the grain movement.** Download the form from AIC. **Section 4, Post-Harvest Treatment**, belongs to the grower or storekeeper and asks for the relevant A, B or C statement plus treatment dates and product details. ### Keep the form's responsibilities separate - **Section 2, Vehicle Hygiene**, is completed by the haulier; it does not replace the grower's treatment declaration. - **Section 9, Receipt Details**, is completed by the receiver. - Crop type, variety and store/bin identity connect the load with its source. Vehicle registration, trailer identity and collection ticket connect it with the movement. - The **DON risk-assessment** prompt is for wheat. The **GM statement in Section 7** is for oilseed crops. - Where more than one test has been carried out, the form asks for **all results**. For **malting barley**, statement **4B** also confirms that only treatments on the **British Beer and Pub Association Approved List** were used. ## Next step Trace an outgoing lot to its growing location, harvest and treatments. Use the [grain passport download](https://www.agindustries.org.uk/resource/combinable-crops-passport--version-01-25-issued-2025.html) for grain movements and the [application-record guide](/uk/pesticide-record-keeping-requirements/) for treatment history.