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| Toxicity labels | |
|---|---|
 Red, yellow, blue and green labels. | |
| Effective region | India |
| Effective since | 1971 |
| Product category | Pesticides |
| Legal status | Mandatory |
| Mandatory since | 1971 |
Toxicity labels[1] viz;red label,yellow label,blue label andgreen label are mandatory labels employed onpesticide containers in India identifying the level oftoxicity (that is, thetoxicity class) of the contained pesticide.[1][2][3] The schemes follows from theInsecticides Act of 1968[1] and theInsecticides Rules of 1971.
The labeling follows a general scheme as laid down in theInsecticides Rules, 1971, and contains information such as brand name, name of manufacturer, name of the antidote in case of accidental consumption etc. A major aspect of the label is a color mark which represents the toxicity of the material by a color code. Thus the labelling scheme proposes four different colour labels: viz red, yellow, blue, and green.[4]
| Label | Name | Level of toxicity | Orallethal dose (mg/kg) | Listed chemicals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Red label | Extremely toxic | 1–50 | Monocrotophos,zinc phosphide,ethyl mercury acetate, and others. | |
 | Yellow label | Highly toxic | 51–500 | Endosulfan,carbaryl,[2]quinalphos,[2] and others. | |
 | Blue label | Moderately toxic | 501–5000 | Malathion,thiram,glyphosate,[2] and others. | |
 | Green label | Slightly toxic | > 5000 | Mancozeb,oxyfluorfen, mosquito repellant oils and liquids, and most other household insecticides. | |
The toxicity classification applies only to pesticides which are allowed to be sold in India. Some of the classified pesticides may be banned in some states of India, by decision of the state governments. Some of the red-label and yellow-label pesticides were banned in the state ofKerala following theEndosulfan protests of 2011.[2]