The European Commission requires companies to be able to provide traceability data of plants and plant products to the supervisory authorities upon request. Companies must be able to supply data on the origin and further destination of these products within 48 hours of the authorities first request. Companies must retain this data for at least 3 years. The NVWA notes that companies are currently not always aware of this obligation. Therefore, extra supervision will be carried out in the coming period.
Background
If a quarantine organism is found in the Netherlands, related plant material must be able to be traced in a timely manner to prevent further spread. It is therefore necessary to have quick access to (company) data that is relevant for tracing.
According to the law, maintaining this data is the responsibility of the professional market participant. These are all companies and organizations that are professionally involved in the production, trade, movement, or processing of plants, plant products, and other products that can serve as vectors for plant diseases.
When the market participant keeps incomplete records, it hinders the tracing investigation in the event of a quarantine organism finding. Possible consequences are that more plants are declared infected and must be destroyed, or that larger cultivation areas are delineated. There may also be stricter consequences for the entire chain in the form of increased supervision. By not providing the necessary information for tracing (in a timely manner), greater effort from the NVWA is required to retrieve relevant data. This often leads to a broad investigation among suppliers and customers of the company where a finding has been made. This can not only lead to reputational damage for the company but also for the entire chain and for the position of the Netherlands as an agricultural trading nation.
Supervision
In the coming period, extra supervision will be carried out on compliance with this traceability obligation. The primary goal of this extra supervision is to bring this obligation to the attention of market participants. The supervision will be combined with other phytosanitary inspections where possible.
If you are already under supervision by the inspection services in the context of plant passport authorization, providing this data is likely not a problem. In that case, you can contact your inspection service if you have questions.
During a transition period of 1 year, compliance assistance will be provided to companies that have not yet sufficiently arranged this administration. From mid-2026, it will also be possible to impose actual sanctions, such as an administrative fine.
More Information
Information about who and which products this regulation applies to, which data must be retained, and other information can be found on the page Maintain Records on the Supply and Disposal of Plants and Plant Products.
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