2454 final report.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

Evaluation of the Community Plant Health Regime: Final Report
DG SANCO Evaluation Framework Contract Lot 3 (Food Chain)
methods, funded by UK and NL partners) supports the development of techniques for
producing reference standards for DNA-based collections and for proficiency testing for use
by diagnostic laboratories.
Other projects in support of the plant health diagnostic area include:
- QBOL project (DNA bar coding): Informative genes from selected species on the EU
Directive and EPPO lists are DNA bar coded from specimens. The sequences, together
with taxonomic features, will be included in an internet-based database system; the
developed DNA bar-coding protocols and the use of DNA bar-coding as a diagnostic
tool will be evaluated and validated by phytosanitary end users like reference labs.
- Q-DETECT: development of tools for use primarily by inspection services in the field
rather than in the laboratories. Such tools are being developed for example for stone
fruit diseases.
There is consensus – amongst MS and the experts interviewed – that in order to have adequate
expertise available for all HOs, and in the context of limited and decreasing resources, the
best solution would be not to have all experts available in all MS, but a good network
covering the range of expertise needed across the EU-27. It is widely acknowledged that EU
coordination in the field of diagnosis, analytical methods is necessary and urgently required.
It is suggested that one of the tools could be joining and linking the available expertise (e.g.
more links between diagnostic laboratories would overcome the issue of the lack of experts
for a specific pest). However it also noted that the issue is not only related to availability of
diagnostic expertise and infrastructure - and mutual trust/acceptability between MS - but also
the problems of maintaining collections, as this is usually the first expenditure to fall with
budget cuts and collections are expensive to maintain. In the view of some MS, it is not
necessary that every MS has a collection, provided there is good sharing of information, and
that it is affordable to have EU collections. Furthermore, it is suggested that the EU collection
centres could be located at different places and linked through a virtual centre. Sharing of
information is also seen as beneficial in that with better cooperation, MS could discuss
together and exchange experiences: this could lead to a more uniform view of what threats
MS should be concerned about (including risk assessments), and to a harmonization of testing
methods for inspection of samples. One way of establishing such cooperation could be the
establishment of EU-RLs, and this option will be analysed in section 5.8.2.
At EU level, binding protocols for diagnostic methods do not exist 185 , with the exception of
some HOs of potato 186 (Potato Cyst Nematodes, Brown Rot and Ring Rot) for which Control
Directives are in place and that provide detailed requirements for detection and diagnosis.
This leads - in the view of several MS and stakeholders - to differences in the analytical
methods and in the results obtained, and therefore is an issue which needs to be addressed. In
particular, coordination needs to be established in this field in order to define common
protocols for testing. This is also strongly requested by some stakeholders, suggesting that
185 According to Directive 2000/29/EC, the NPPO is responsible for defining and selecting the analytical method
and protocol to be applied.
FCEC 173