UTRECHT (ANP) – The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) has announced that it will take action against tomato growers who deliberately infect their own plants with a virus. The regulator has seen for some time that companies illegally infect plants with a virus variant that is described as ‘mild’. The idea is that the plant is then better protected against more aggressive virus variants. This method, known as ‘cross-protection’, is “not supported by scientific evidence” for the virus in question, according to the NVWA.
The virus in question is the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), which can cause entire harvests to fail. Not only tomatoes are sensitive to it: peppers and chili peppers are also vulnerable to the virus. The virus has been circulating in Europe for a long time.
Growers are looking for effective ways to protect their plants. Cross-protection is not allowed, the NVWA emphasizes again. Because for this, a variant of the virus must be spread, while European rules are aimed precisely at stopping the spread of ToBRFV. If someone deliberately infects their plants, this also leads to risks for other growers in the area.
Previously warned
The regulator previously warned that this is not allowed and is now announcing “enforcement action”. A producer of a protective agent containing a ‘mild’ virus variant and some customers who have used it are also under criminal investigation. “There is still insufficient insight into whether this variant is actually mild under different circumstances,” the NVWA previously stated. The authority has information about companies “where serious symptoms do occur” after using it.
The virus is not dangerous for humans.