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Food Safety

The main objective of EUROPHYT is to help to protect the territory of the EU from the introduction and spread of new pests and plant diseases, thereby reducing or eliminating the economic and/or environmental impact of the harmful organisms and reducing the need for pesticide use.

The EUROPHYT rapid alert system and the pest-risk-pathway analysis based on the data stored in the system provides useful assistance to:

  • European Commission in the development and adaptation of the EU plant health legislation to actual risks, including the implementation of emergency actions (e.g. imposing trade restrictions);

  • The European Commission's DG for Health and Food Safety to plan audits, carried out in EU Member States and non-EU countries on the implementation of EU plant health requirements;

  • European Food Safety Authority in the assessment of the risks presented by harmful organisms to the European Union;

  • The EU countries​ and Switzerland to target and adapt their phytosanitary controls to the actual risk, as regards: implementing appropriate control measures; targeting surveys on the spread of harmful organisms, development and adaptation of inspection techniques and inspectors' training;

  • Countries exporting to the EU to help and encourage them to improve their controls with corrective action in order to ensure that future exports meet the phytosanitary requirements of the European Union.