EUROPEAN COMMISSION HEALTH & CONSUMER PROTECTION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL Directorate F - Food and Veterinary Office DG(SANCO)/7087/2004– MR REPORT OF A PLANT HEALTH FOLLOW-UP MISSION IN GREECE FROM 26/01/2004 TO 30/01/2004 REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CERTAIN EU POTATO LEGISLATION 28/09/04 - 15161 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................3 2. OBJECTIVES OF THE MISSION .............................................................................3 3. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE MISSION.........................................................................4 4. BACKGROUND.........................................................................................................4 4.1. Previous missions ..............................................................................................4 4.2. Background to present mission .........................................................................4 5. MAIN FINDINGS.......................................................................................................5 5.1. Legislation and documentation..........................................................................5 5.2. Control of potato ring rot (Crete) ......................................................................5 5.3. Control of Ralstonia solanacearum (Kalavryta) ...............................................6 5.4. Labelling of ware potatoes ................................................................................7 6. CONCLUSIONS.........................................................................................................8 7. CLOSING MEETING.................................................................................................8 8. RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................8 9. ADDENDUM............................................................................................................10 Abbreviations & special terms used In the report EU European Union FVO Food and Veterinary Office 2 1. INTRODUCTION The mission took place in Greece from 26/01/2004 to 30/01/2004. The mission team comprised three inspectors from the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) and was accompanied throughout the mission by representatives from the Greek Plant Health Service. The mission was undertaken as part of the FVO planned mission programme and in connection with mission no. DG(SANCO)/7081/2004 carried out to evaluate the implementation of the plant passport system. An opening meeting was held on 26 January 2004 at the Ministry of Agriculture in Athens with representatives from the Department of Phytosanitary Control. During this meeting, the inspection team confirmed the objectives and itinerary for the mission. This mission report addresses only selected topics, identified in previous missions as potential problem areas. More comprehensive descriptions of the plant health control systems are given in the reports of previous missions (see 4.1 below) and the above mentioned mission no. DG(SANCO)/7081/2004 and not repeated here. 2. OBJECTIVES OF THE MISSION The objective of the mission was to verify the progress made since March 2000 in the Greek implementation of • the control directives for potato ring rot (Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus)1 and potato brown rot (Ralstonia solanacearum)2 • the labelling requirements for ware potatoes3 In pursuit of these objectives, the following sites were visited: Competent authorities Comments/authorities and persons met Department of Phytosanitary Control, HQ 1 Regional office 1 Patras Field Visits Potato farmer 1 Kalavryta area Wholesale markets 2 Athens and Patras 1 Council Directive 93/85/EEC of 4 October 1993 on the control of potato ring rot, OJ L 259, 18.10.1993, p.01 2 Council Directive 98/57/EC of 20 July 1998 on the control of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al., OJ L 235, 21.08.1998, p.01 3 Annex IV, part A, section II, point 18.5 of Council Directive 2000/29/EC of 8 May 2000 on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community, OJ L 169, 10.07.2000, p.01 (as amended). 3 3. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE MISSION The mission was carried out under the provisions of Article 21 of Council Directive 2000/29/EC. 4. BACKGROUND 4.1. Previous missions Two missions were carried out in 1998 to monitor the control of potato ring rot and R. solanacearum (report nos. XXIV/1328/98 and XXIV/1306/98 – not published). A further mission was undertaken in March 2000 to audit the plant health controls in the potato sector (report no. DG(SANCO)/1015/2000 – published on the Internet4). 4.2. Background to present mission The above-mentioned missions revealed serious problems with implementing the EU legislation, especially with regards to the control of potato ring rot (Crete) and the labelling of ware potatoes. Consequently, the following recommendations for addressing this were made in the March 2000 report: “It is recommended to the competent authorities of Greece to: – Implement in Crete all measures required by the Council Directive 93/85/EEC. – With the experience from Crete in mind, draw up contingency plans for such outbreaks. They should contain methods to communicate the measures required by the respective legal texts to the farmers. Since agriculture in Greece in many places is small scale and resource poor, additional complementary action (possibly including financial measures) by the stakeholders in the potato sector should be part of the contingency plans – Enforce the labelling of ware potatoes as required by the Council Directive 77/93/EEC.” The Commission has been in dialogue with Greece since then for the implementation of these recommendations. Furthermore, in 2001, there were outbreaks of R. solanacearum in a number of villages in Peloponessos, with reoccurrences in 2002 and 2003, indicating problems also with the efficient control of this pathogen. 4 http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/inspections/pi/reports/greece/pi_rep_gree_1015-2000_en.pdf 4 5. MAIN FINDINGS 5.1. Legislation and documentation Council Directive 93/85/EEC (excluding the test method) was transposed by a ministerial decree and published in the Greek Government Gazette, Vol 2, No. 743, 4 October 1994. Council Directive 98/57/EC, the transposition of which was still outstanding at the time of the previous mission, has since been transposed by presidential decree no. 255 and published in the Greek Government Gazette, Vol 1, No. 214, 6 October 2000. Copies of this legislation were given to the mission team. The transposition appears complete and correct. There is neither a national manual nor a contingency plan, which “translates” the legislation into practical activities, which the regional/local officers will have to undertake in cases of outbreaks. 5.2. Control of potato ring rot (Crete) The mission team did not visit Crete during the mission, but was informed by the Department of Phytosanitary Control in Athens that the situation remains largely unchanged in the main outbreak area of the island, the Lasithi plateau. The cooperation from farmers there is still inadequate for implementing the key aspects of the control directive and bringing the contamination towards eradication. A report of 26 January 2004 from the regional authorities in Heraklion, Crete thus states that “during 2003 fewer samples were taken [..] than in the past from the Lasithi Plateau. This was due to the producers’ refusal to cooperate in sample-taking...” The emergency measure, very unpopular amongst the Lasithi farmers, banning potatoes from being moved out of Crete therefore remains in force. Table 5.1 Number of potato samples from Crete analysed for ring rot 1998-2003 Lasithi Messara Mallia Harvest No. of % No. of % No. of % year samples positives samples positives samples positives 1998 778 28 35 14 116 9 1999 278 51 38 26 70 27 2000 525 22 31 25 70 0 2001 406 9 71 7 76 0 2002 242 19 51 4 63 0 2003 38 5 39 0 52 0 In one of the other two main potato-growing areas in Crete, Mallia, there have been no outbreaks since 1999. The authorities believe that the farmers there, who are more resourceful than those on the Lasithi Plateau, have been able to clear their production from contamination especially through respecting the recommendations for renewal of seed and crop rotation. In 5 2002, an exception from the “export” ban on Crete was consequently granted for the Mallia area. In the third main potato growing area of Crete, Messara, the incidence of ring rot has similarly been drastically reduced over the last 4 years with no outbreaks found in 2003. Consequently, the authorities consider granting an exception to the export ban for this area also. Table 5.1, above shows the number of samples taken in the monitoring programme and the incidence of contamination. 5.3. Control of Ralstonia solanacearum (Kalavryta) The Kalavryta is a remote and mountainous area in Peloponessos and the agriculture is based on cattle. Potato growing is small scale only, using uncertified seed and low technology production methods. Some irrigation takes place using water either from wells or from small local rivers. Potatoes are usually grown in rotation with cereals or alfalfa. R. solanacearum was first discovered in the area in 2001 and the outbreaks have since been handled by inspectors from the regional plant health service in Patras. The bacterium was first found