• The treatment proposed by the Commission against this pest, which is being discussed by the SCoPAFF today and tomorrow, has been modified again and does not fully meet the sector’s expectations for mitigating the risk of infection.
• Nevertheless, Intercitrus supports the efforts and trusts the actions being undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture in Brussels to prevent the entry of new pests.

Intercitrus has become aware in the last few hours of a second proposal from the European Commission (EC) to subject orange imports from countries affected by the False Codling Moth (Thaumatotibia leucotreta) to cold treatment. The proposal put forward by the Commission to be considered by the members of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (SCoPAFF), meeting today and tomorrow in Brussels, differs from the one in February that underwent public consultation both in the EU and the World Trade Organization (WTO). This new proposed amendment to the regulation involves a relaxation of the proposed cold treatment, changing it from -1 to 0ºC for 16 days to -1 to +2 ºC for 20 days. In an emergency meeting this morning, members of the interprofessional citrus organization confirmed that this new type of treatment “does not meet the sector’s expectations, nor does it guarantee the safety of our citrus fruits as it does not align with the scientific recommendations of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).” Despite this, the interprofessional organization wants to give a “vote of confidence” to the technical work and political efforts that the Ministry of Agriculture is undertaking with representatives of other member states to ensure the plant health of citrus fruits, not only Spanish ones but also those of the entire Europe.

For members of the interprofessional organization, the first objective is for the cold treatment to be approved as soon as possible and, therefore, to be applied from the start of the Southern Hemisphere import campaign, as committed by the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, in a letter to the sector. There is also consensus that once approved, the interprofessional organization will continue to work to reduce the risk of contamination, improve the effectiveness of the treatment, and adapt it to existing international standards in this regard. This would necessarily involve extending the application of such treatment from orange imports to mandarins and grapefruits – which are equally hosts of this pest – and seeking more scientifically sound support in line with what the EFSA has assessed.

Intercitrus is aware that this issue is being treated as a priority by the Spanish authorities and therefore places its trust in the work that the ministry has been carrying out over the past few months.