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Pan Britannica Industries Ltd (PBI) was a household and agrochemical formulation company incorporated in 1932 and based at Britannica House, Stewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey and with a distribution presence in Wisbech in Cambridgeshire. PBI was, in common with many other UK household names, both a manufacturer and marketing organisation for both agricultural and horticultural products.

PBI produced many agro-chemical formulations for farmers, however it was perhaps best known for its product Baby Bio, a liquid plant food that came in a small perfume-shaped bottle. PBI was also the original publisher of the 'Expert' range of gardening books, starting with Be Your Own Gardening Expert written in 1958 by Dr D.G. Hessayon, who later became the company's chairman.

The company was sold to Sumitomo Corporation on 28 September 1990, and rebranded as PBI Home & Garden in 1998. In March 1999 the company was acquired by global conglomerate Bayer. The company has ceased production at Waltham Abbey, the works have been demolished and the site redeveloped for a Tesco supermarket. The rebranded company, PBI Home and Garden, was dissolved in 2015.

Cancer allegations

The company's formulation plant in Waltham Abbey was alleged to be at the centre and therefore the cause of a cancer hotspot. This was highlighted by Storyline, an investigative television programme by Carlton Television, in early 1993. Reports of an unusual occurrence of cancer around the plant and subsequent legal action taken by the residents were the basis for this programme.

References

1. ^ "'Expert' book group sold to Japanese". Hertfordshire Mercury. 31 August 1990. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
2. "Dr D G Hessayon: So, how does the expert's garden grow?". The Telegraph. 9 February 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
3. Hessayon, D. G. (14 November 2023). Be Your Own Gardening Expert. [With Illustrations.]. Pan Britannica Industries.
4. "The cricket-loving doctor makes another big score". Manchester Evening News. 24 June 1977. Retrieved 14 November 2023. He joined Pan Britannica Industries, a small garden chemicals firm of which he is now chairman and managing director, and has grown to be the second biggest of its kind in the country
5. "PBI HOME & GARDEN LIMITED filing history - Directors' Report and Accounts for year ended 30 September 1990". Companies House. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
6. "Pan Britannica becomes pbi Home & Garden - ProQuest". ProQuest 229899186. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
7. Hastings, Hannah (23 September 2019). "Epping Forest MP visits retirement home builders following contaminated land concerns". Epping Forest Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
8. "PBI HOME & GARDEN LIMITED". Companies House. Retrieved 17 November 2023. Company status Dissolved Dissolved on 10 March 2015
9. Wilkinson, P; Thakrar, B; Shaddick, G; Stevenson, S; Pattenden, S; Landon, M; Grundy, C; Elliott, P (1 February 1997). "Cancer incidence and mortality around the Pan Britannica Industries pesticide factory, Waltham Abbey". Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 54 (2): 101–107. doi:10.1136/oem.54.2.101. ISSN 1351-0711. PMC 1128659. PMID 9072017.
10. Wilkinson, Paul, ed. (2006). "Investigation of a putative disease cluster". Environmental epidemiology (PDF). Understanding public health. Maidenhead: Open Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-335-21842-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
11. "Inquiry is sought over pesticide cancer fears". Independent.co.uk. 22 October 2011. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.

• Bayer
• Agricultural chemicals
• Environmental chemistry
• Defunct manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom
• Companies based in Hertfordshire
• 1932 establishments in the United Kingdom