Plant Health Standards

Standards on plant health (phytosanitary) measures are defined as “Any legislation, regulation or official procedure having the purpose to prevent the introduction and/or spread of quarantine pests, or to limit the economic impact of regulated non-quarantine pests” (IPPC 2008, p. 77)

 

Global food production faces significant threats resulting from an increasing world population and hence a rising demand for food and agricultural products. It is estimated that 10 percent of global food production are lost due to plant diseases. These diseases are caused by a variety of pathogens, both in the field as well as post-harvest, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasitic plants. The need for an internationally agreed convention on plant protection and the prevention of plant diseases and their spreading, led to the development of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) in the 1920s. It was adopted by the FAO in 1951. The IPPC has been revised twice and until 2009 has been ratified by 173 states worldwide. Today it represents the reference organization for international standards for plant health (phytosanitary) measures under the SPS Agreement of the WTO. The IPPC’s purpose is to harmonize plant quarantine and plant health measures, protecting plants, plant products and other regulated articles against plant pests. The IPPC has set up International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) on pest risk analysis, requirements for the establishment of pest-free areas and other guidelines on topics related to the SPS Agreement. National governments may implement their own plant health protection regulations based on those recommendations by the IPPC. In doing so, responsible national authorities, such as national plant protection organizations or plant health services implement measures according to the following hierarchical approach: to prevent the introduction of plant pests, or impede at the earliest possible stage the spread of diseases, and if these measures have not been feasible, to contain pests and set up other control measures. In the case that specific importing requirements are not met, the importing country may refuse the entry or destroy the plant, plant product or regulated articles.

 

References:

IPPC (2008). International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures, 2008 ed. Rome: FAO (Secretariat of the IPPC).

Schrader, G. & Unger, J.-G. (2003). Plant quarantine as a measure against invasive alien species: the framework of the International Plant Protection Convention and the plant health regulations in the European Union. Biological Invasions, 5 (4), 357-364.

Strange, R.N. & Scott, P.R. (2005). Plant Disease: A Threat to Global Food Security. Annual Review of Phytopathology, 43 (1), 83-116.

 

Further information:

• International Portal on Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health (IPFSAPH)

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