12^th meeting of the EPPO Panel on Phytosanitary Inspections

Copenhagen, 2024-12-10/12

The EPPO Panel on Phytosanitary Inspections met in Copenhagen at the kind invitation of Danish Agricultural Agency. Twelve Panel members and one observer participated in the meeting.

PM 3 Standards under revision/development

The Panel reviewed an update of the EPPO Standard PM 3/29 (1) General export inspection procedure for glasshouse and nursery enterprises and made some suggestions for improvement. The Panel agreed to amend the title of the Standard to make it clear that the document concerns general aspects and therefore the new title would be ‘General aspects of inspection of plants or plant products intended for export’. A final draft including all suggested changes will be sent for country consultation in 2025.

The Panel discussed the potential update of the EPPO Standard PM 3/72 (2) Elements common to inspection of places of production, area-wide surveillance, inspection of consignments and lot identification. The Panel considered the Standard should focus on inspection of places of production and inspection of consignments and agreed the update should include all common aspects, e.g. sampling, lot identification, traps, visual examination, documentation (recording results), document checks, hygiene measures and communication The Panel also agreed to start the update of PM 3/73 (1) Consignment inspection of Fragaria plants for planting.

Development of new inspection Standards

The Panel discussed the development of two new inspection Standards (1) Consignment inspection of cut flowers and (2) Consignment inspection of woody plants for planting. For both Standards, the Panel noted there are a large number of species from a variety of groups that can be included in the Standard. It was agreed to prioritise species to include, potentially based on trade data, interceptions or outbreaks. The Panel noted that each Standard could be composed of a general Standard on the inspection procedure and appendices could detail specific aspects for species. The Panel agreed to further develop these two Standards in 2025.

Phytosanitary inspections of cut flowers at Schiphol airport (NL)

2025 Workshop for Inspectors

The Panel discussed the initial arrangements for the 2025 Workshop for Inspectors. The workshop will be held over three days starting at noon on the 18^th November and finishing at noon on the 20^th November. The Workshop will be held in the Netherlands and the location will be finalised in March. A first announcement for the workshop will be sent to NPPOs in April along with the proposed theme and topics.

Participants of the 2024 Panel on Phytosanitary Inspections at the Danish Agricultural Agency, Copenhagen