Outbreaks of the tomato brown rugose fruit virus in the EU : overview report

This overview report describes the outcome of a series of audits carried out between October 2020 and February 2022 by the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission in five EU Member States. The objective was to assess the situation related to outbreaks of Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) and to evaluate the control measures applied. In addition, the report analyses the information provided by the other EU Member States about ToBRFV outbreaks on their territory and imported tomato and pepper seed consignments which were found to be non-compliant with the EU import rules due to the presence of ToBRFV. The report indicates the means by which the virus introduces to and spreads within tomato and pepper seed, plants for planting and fruit crops. It highlights the factors influencing the implementation and effectiveness of EU emergency legislation, including best practices and also the possible ways to improve some provisions of the EU legislation. The EU emergency measures in place since 2019 contributed to the control of the outbreaks but could not prevent introductions of the disease to new production sites. Infected seeds and plants for planting are likely to be the most important pathways for the introduction. The results of sampling and testing of imported seeds indicate that the prevalence of infection in these consignments is higher than previously suspected. This, together with deficiencies in the implementation and supervision of the sampling and testing of mother plants and seed lots in the Member States results in an important plant health risk for the EU. The high number of outbreaks in fruit crops grown from imported or EU origin seeds may have been caused by the partial implementation of the testing and sampling regime required by the EU legislation. Once outbreaks are identified, strict hygiene and other measures have been put in place to prevent the spread of ToBRFV within the production site. Eradication was successfully achieved in some outbreaks. However, in many cases the work is ongoing. It appears that efforts are compromised by the limited scientific knowledge and other information available concerning the most effective methods to control the pathogen. The report also highlights the importance of more stringent actions to minimise the risks of introducing infections into production sites. The EU emergency measures have created a high level of awareness of the disease in Member States and generally satisfactory systems of official controls are in place. Efforts to identify the source of infections have mostly been inconclusive. The Member States audited did not always have efficient coordination and cooperation mechanisms in place to ensure effective trace-forward to identify recipients of seed and or plants for planting which have been involved in outbreaks and to adequately inform other Member States involved.