The European Commission has published a new report detailing the situation and control measures implemented in response to outbreaks of the Asian and Citrus longhorn beetle, two priority quarantine pests in the EU.
These invasive species pose a significant threat to over 100 plant species, including ornamental and forest trees, causing rapid plant death. However, the report finds that effective control measures can successfully eradicate outbreaks, even in areas with persistent infestations.
The report highlights the importance of swift action, noting that delays in felling and destroying infested plants can facilitate the spread of the Asian longhorn beetle, leading to further outbreaks.
The Commission's report provides valuable insights into the management of these high-risk pests, underlining the need for prompt and effective control measures to protect the EU's plant health.
Details of the audit report on Longhorn Beetle eradication are available at the "Read more" link below.
The European Commission has published a comprehensive evaluation report assessing the implementation of EU rules on plant health by Member States. The report examines the effectiveness of multi-annual survey programmes designed to detect and prevent the introduction and spread of over 400 species of quarantine pests that could have an unacceptable negative economic, environmental, or social impact to Europe's crops, forests, and natural environments.
According to the report, the majority of Member States have successfully established and implemented the required survey programmes, meeting EU legislative standards. While some Member States have not yet developed multi-annual survey programmes four years after the legal deadline, the report confirms that all countries conduct regular surveys and report their findings to the European Commission annually.
The evaluation highlights the crucial role of these surveys in early detection and timely response to new outbreaks of quarantine pests, safeguarding Europe's agricultural and natural ecosystems. The report's findings demonstrate the commitment of the EU and EU Member States to protecting plant health and preventing the introduction and spread of harmful pests and diseases.
Details of the evaluation report on EU Member States` efforts to combat harmful pests are available at the link below.
The European Commission has released a new evaluation report assessing the preparedness of EU Member States to respond to outbreaks of the most economically, environmentally, and socially damaging plant pests. This report reveals significant variations in the progress made by Member States in drawing up contingency plans for these priority pests. Six Member States have drawn up all required contingency plans, four Member States have no finalised plans, and the remaining Member States have made some progress in completing all necessary plans.
EU rules on plant health require Member States to establish contingency plans for the 20 priority pests that pose the greatest threat to the EU's crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers, ornamentals, and forests. These plans serve as a foundation for national authorities to eradicate these pests in the event of detection.
The importance of contingency plans cannot be overstated, as they play a crucial role in helping national authorities eradicate priority pests. However, this evaluation shows that some Member States still have a significant amount of work to do to be prepared for any outbreaks of priority pests.
Details of the evaluation report on EU Member States` preparedness for outbreaks of the most harmful pests are available at the link below.
The European Commission has published its comprehensive Health and Food Audits and Analysis work programme for 2025, outlining its plan to help ensure the highest standards of food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, and plant health across the European Union.
Verifying Compliance and Protecting Consumers
As part of the programme, the Commission will conduct a total of 259 controls and audits in EU Member States, third countries exporting to the EU, and candidate countries. These thorough checks aim to verify that EU standards and legislation are being correctly implemented, giving consumers confidence that their interests are protected.
A Transparent and Accountable Process
The selection of controls is based on a rigorous prioritisation process, taking into account legal obligations, risk assessments, and the Commission's key priorities. The outcomes of these audits will be made publicly available on the European Commission's website, ensuring transparency and accountability throughout the process.
Additional Measures to help ensure Safety and Compliance
In addition to audits, Commission experts will conduct targeted controls, including:
Verifying compliance with EU legislation at border control posts
Monitoring medical devices notified bodies
Assessing third country listings for exports to the EU
Conducting pre-accession assessments in the context of enlargement
The programme also includes the management of two networks of Member States authorities, focusing on multi-annual national control plans and national audit systems, as well as the Better Training for Safer Food programme.
Learn More
For more information on the Health and Food Audits and Analysis Programme for 2025, click on link below:
In a new report, the European Commission shares insights into official controls and audits on food and feed, animal health, and plant protection products carried out in EU countries in 2022. This report highlights the importance of these controls to maintain high levels of health protection and trust in the food chain, from farm to fork. By auditing and controlling that businesses comply with legal requirements, European consumers can be confident that their food is safe, and trade in food, animals, and plants within the EU and with non-EU countries can flow smoothly.
National authorities are responsible for conducting official controls based on risk assessments. If businesses along the food chain do not meet the necessary standards, authorities must take action to bring operators back into compliance.
The report presents this data through standardised and user-friendly, EU-wide graphs, showing the number of active food business entities, official controls performed, non-compliance issues identified, and administrative sanctions and judicial actions taken.
In 2022, around 16.4 million business entities were active in the EU and subject to official controls by national authorities, resulting in over 5 million official controls, the identification of approximately 1.2 million non-compliance issues, and the imposition of 475 thousand administrative sanctions, as well as 12 thousand judicial actions.
The Commission also played a supportive role, helping EU countries improve their official control systems through training and meetings with experts.
The accompanying staff working document provides more detailed information on the controls performed by national authorities and the Commission. The report emphasizes that EU countries have the necessary control systems in place to maintain food and feed safety and a healthy internal market. Commission controls have identified areas for improvement, and verify that national authorities generally take appropriate corrective measures to address shortcomings.
Discover more about official controls in the food chain, annual reports by EU countries and the details of this Commission report by clicking on the link below.
The Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety published an update to its Health and food audits and analysis work programme 2024. This update takes account of necessary changes largely due to the reprioritisation of controls and resources to better contribute to the Commissioner’s mandate. To learn more about the updated programme, please click here.
Animal by-products (ABP), while not suitable for human consumption, are converted into products that are brought to good use in many areas important for our daily lives. These include hides used to produce leather, fats used to produce biodiesel, or proteins, fats and microelements used for feeding animals, for the manufacture of medical devices, cosmetics and substrates for the pharmaceutical industry.
What all of these uses have in common is the requirement for quality and safety of the products derived from ABP and the need for effective oversight of ABP operators by the responsible competent authorities.
A new overview report from the European Commission has looked at the situation in the EU. It has found that inspections and checks carried out by the competent authorities (official controls) along the production chain of ABP and the products derived are generally implemented well. Nevertheless, the complexity of certain technical and engineering aspects of operators’ activities are challenging for competent authorities to check, requiring specialist knowledge to be effective. The EU Member States are working hard to address these challenges.
To read more about how ABP are brought to good use, please click here:
Every year, the European Commission carries out audits and other controls to verify that EU standards on food and feed safety, food quality, animal health and welfare, plant health and certain areas of human health are correctly implemented in EU Member States and in countries around the world that export to the EU.
In 2024 there are 234 planned controls, which includes 134 audits to assess control systems at the country level. Once complete, the outcomes of these audits are published on the website of the European Commission.
In addition, Commission experts will perform demand-driven controls such as those verifying compliance with EU legislation of border control posts, medical devices notified bodies, laboratories and testing facilities involved in studies for regulated product submission, and third country listings for exports to the EU.
The selection of planned controls results from a comprehensive prioritisation process. This is based on legal obligations for Commission controls, an assessment of risks posed in the sectors concerned and the Commission’s political priorities, in particular the Farm to Fork Strategy.
All controls help give consumers the confidence that their interests are protected.
The work programme also presents other activities planned for 2024. These include, for example, on the sustainable use of pesticides, the management of two networks of Member State authorities on their multi-annual national control plans and national audit systems, and the management of the Better Training for Safer Food programme.
To learn more about the details of the Health and Food Audits and Analysis Programme for 2024, please click here.
Fraud in the agri-food chain affects industry and consumers economically, undermines consumer trust and may lead to serious health issues. The EU has recognised the importance of tackling fraudulent and deceptive practices in the agri-food chain and since 2019 Member States are required to carry out risk-based controls to detect fraudulent and deceptive practices.
The Commission carried out a project between 2020 and 2022 to collect information on the new arrangements put in place by Member States to fight fraud in the agri-food chain. Based on this project, the Commission has published an overview report which focuses on eight Member Statues and how their competent authorities developed control arrangements and strategies to combat fraudulent practices. It presents the challenges, opportunities, and several good practice examples in relation to fraud related controls in the Member States.
To read the report on how Member States fight fraud along the agri-food chain please click on "Read more…"
Furthermore, the Commission published in March 2023 a guidance document to support Member States in their efforts to combat fraud within the agri-food supply chain. It is particularly helpful, as it clearly outlines how to uniformly interpret and apply the respective EU laws in the context of fighting food fraud.
A new Commission report describes the outbreaks of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa in the EU and the control measures introduced by the EU. The report analyses the challenges to control the disease and identifies examples of good practice. It concludes that eradication in small outbreak areas was successful, when EU control measures were applied. The report also identifies the factors which make it difficult to eradicate the disease in large outbreak areas and describes measures to contain the disease.
To read the report´s assessment on measures to control Xylella fastidiosa, please click here…
