From 1 January 2025 tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) will no longer be classed as a quarantine pest in the European Union. Instead, it will officially be classified as a ‘Union-regulated non-quarantine pest (RNQP) with a zero-tolerance threshold.’
This means that growers will still have to perform specific control measures to control the disease, including: sourcing seeds from certified pest-free regions or testing them to ensure they are virus-free (mother plant testing is allowed for small lots); ensuring plants for planting originate from pest-free regions or are derived from tested seeds maintained under hygienic conditions; and ensuring phytosanitary certificates and plant passports are available. Varieties of Capsicum annuum which are resistant to ToBRFV are exempt from these measures.
The new regulations also specify that imported consignments from third-countries must be inspected at sampling rates of 20%, except for material from Israel (50%) and China (100%).
As ToBRFV is no longer a quarantine pest, nurseries or farms where the virus has been identified will no longer need to be kept under surveillance, and there is no longer a requirement for affected growers to share plans for action or the disposal of infected material with the authorities, or to notify them of ToBRFV outbreaks. Any existing sanitary orders have been automatically cancelled from 1 January.
