Plant Health Day: Plants also need a passport in the EU

| Plant Protection Service Seed and planting material, Control

The plant passport guarantees safe trade of plants within the EU and the containment of the spread of plant pests. On the occasion of the 2nd International Plant Health Day, the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) and the BAES draw attention to the importance of this label and explain how consumers can read it correctly. Buying plants regionally can also save transport distances and thus CO2.

Passport control! - The plant passport as a security feature for phytosanitary status.

A passport stands for security and guarantees traceability of origin. This simple "formula" is not only valid for the movement of people, it also has significance for the trade in plants. In trade within the EU, all plants intended for planting - i.e. cuttings, young plants or potted or indoor plants such as dragon palms, violin figs, monstera & co. - as well as certain seeds must "travel" with a plant passport. The plant passport is thus an indispensable quality assurance tool that guarantees freedom from relevant plant pests and thus a healthy plant or pest-free seed.

Keep your eyes open when buying plants! - How to read the plant passport (click on the link to view the graphic)

The plant passport is an official document that ensures that plants come from a controlled company and that no dangerous plant pests are spread with the plants. The plant passport system is valid within the European Union for commercial trade as well as internet trade up to the consumer. It is quite common that the plant passport is printed in the form of stickers or labels on the pot, on the foil packaging as a sticker or also in the pot as a plug-in label and this can be checked by consumers in nurseries, florists or garden centers.

International Plant Health Day on May 12

In order to educate and raise public awareness about the importance of plant health, the United Nations proclaimed the International Plant Health Day for the first time in 2022, following on from the International Year of Plant Health 2020. May 12 will once again be dedicated to this cause in 2023, with the aim of raising awareness of the fact that plant health is a prerequisite for a stable ecosystem, the preservation of biodiversity and sustainable forestry and agriculture.

 

 

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