Europhyt- Interceptions is the Commission’s rapid alert system for plant health.
EU Member States and Switzerland use this system to notify the presence of harmful organisms and other plant health risks found on consignments entering the Union during their import controls. The Commission's latest annual report on the operation of the system in 2016, shows that the number of interceptions made due to the presence of harmful organisms was 1,815, a reduction of 15% compared to 2015. This reflects a continuing downward trend since 2014, with an overall reduction of 25% over the period.
The report provides an overview of interceptions notified during 2016 and evaluates the main trends over the period 2012-2016 within the context of EU actions or measures taken.
Following a range of Commission actions in relation to countries exporting to the EU (bi-lateral dialogue, plant health audits and other targeted measures), interceptions of consignments of some non-EU country commodities (such as Capsicum, Citrus, Solanum and Luffa spp.) showed a marked decrease in 2016.
Thirteen non-EU countries were responsible for the majority of interceptions of during 2016, each having more than 50 interceptions. The main non-EU country commodities intercepted due to the presence of harmful organisms were fruit and vegetables (particularly peppers, mango, basil, citrus and various gourds), Wood Packaging Material (WPM), cut flowers and planting material.
In addition to its function as a rapid alert system, EUROPHYT-Interceptions is an effective policy support tool for risk assessment and risk management. Based on EUROPHYT data, a Non-EU trade Alert List is published each month on the Commission's Health and Food Safety website. This list is intended to draw the attention of the relevant plant health authorities and other stakeholders to certain trades, for which the EU Member States have identified frequent phytosanitary risks, as a first step in having these risks addressed at source.