Dear SC McKee

I am not aware of any prior request for official information having been
lodged by you with our company. I apologise if it has been overlooked or
has somehow slipped through our system.

The formulation for Pestoff DECAL Possum Bait has not changed since it was
first registered in March 2006.

The synergist used in DECAL is only new and unique in as much as it is a
different calcium compound from the synergist previously used in other
cholecalciferol products registered for possum control. These other
products used a calcium compound synergist which was less efficacious, less
palatable and which was very hygroscopic - affecting bait longevity in bait
stations. The use of the words "secret and new" were written by a contract
journalist and were marketing words intended to highlight a point of
difference between DECAL and other cholecalciferol possum control baits.

The synergist used in DECAL is precisely identified in the product's
formulation details approved by the Ministry for Primary Industries under
registration Number V009500.

The formulation details for registered trade name products are confidential,
commercially sensitive trade secrets. The calcium compound used in DECAL
constitutes intellectual property which provides our company some commercial
competitive advantage. Disclosing the details of this to persons other than
the approval authorities such as MPI and EPA would erode that commercial
advantage unacceptably.

We therefore cannot disclose the precise details of the compound to you I'm
sorry, other than to say it is an alternative calcium compound to calcium
carbonate and like calcium carbonate, is used to elevate blood calcium
levels in the target pest, which increases the vulnerability of the animal
to lethal poisoning by cholecalciferol.

I have recently responded to a similar query arising from an official
information request lodged with the Environmental Protection Authority.

The safety data sheet for the product was last updated in March 2016 and is
valid to March 2021. There is no requirement to include the identity of all
inert ingredients on safety data sheets.

Yours sincerely

Bill Simmons
Animal Control Products Ltd
Private Bag 3018
Whanganui 4540
New Zealand
Physical address:
408 Heads Road
Whanganui 4501
New Zealand
Ph +64 6 344 5302 Mobile +64 274 798 318
Fax +64 6 344 2260 Email: [email address]
Skype: bill.simmonz
Web Site: www.pestoff.co.nz

-----Original Message-----
From: S C McKee
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2016 8:17 AM
To: OIA/LGOIMA requests at ACP
Subject: Re: Official Information request - New ingredient in DECAL possum
bait

Dear Animal Control Products Limited,
BY LAW, you should have replied promptly to my Official Information request
and by August 29th at the latest.
My FOI request was:
What is the new ingredient in DECAL possum bait, as advertised in a news
item on your website?

Quote from newsbriefs: "Their secret weapon? Adding extra power to the MEG
team’s skill and hard work was the new, improved DECAL (cholecalciferol)
formulation, with a secret, new ingredient that has dramatically added to
the bait’s efficiency. The results speak for themselves. ​"

Your Material safety data sheet is not up-to-date as there is no mention of
this new synergist in the DECAL baits.

Yours faithfully,
S C McKee

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