Meeting of the ad hoc Panel on Harmonization of data on plant protection products
EPPO Headquarters, Paris, 2017-03-06/08
The ad hoc Panel on Harmonization of data on plant protection products (list of participants 
) met in Paris at the EPPO headquarters on 2017-03-06/08 to discuss the development of the EPPO Codes to describe the uses of plant protection products. This meeting was organized back to back with the EPPO Codes users meeting. The main reasons to develop EPPO Codes for plant protection products uses include the need for harmonized definitions of declared uses of PPPs to facilitate communication among countries. This is of particular relevance to registration authorities in the framework of the mutual recognition and zonal assessment required in EU Regulation 1107/2009. Data exchange and the work related to extrapolation of data for efficacy evaluation of minor uses would also be facilitated by the development of harmonized codes.
Panel members
Implementation of non-taxonomic EPPO Codes in the EPPO Global Database
The recent implementation, by the EPPO Secretariat, of non-taxonomic EPPO Codes in the EPPO Global Database was presented to participants. This includes the harmonized classification for crop groups discussed by the ad hoc Panel at its last meeting and agreed by the EPPO Working Party on Plant Protection Products.
Cooperation with the European Commission
Officials from European Commission (DG SANTE) participated in the Panel meeting to present how EPPO Codes are used in different European Commission IT systems and to discuss collaboration with EPPO for the use of EPPO Codes in Europhyt and the development of EPPO non-taxonomic Codes to describe PPP uses in PPPAMS.
Development of a harmonized classification to describe plant protection products uses
The Panel continue to discuss the classification of non-taxonomic Codes intended to be meaningful in the context of PPP efficacy evaluation and based on potential usefulness for registration purposes:
- The ad hoc Panel refined the classification of Codes for crop groups, including arable crops, fruit, vegetables and ‘herbs, spices and medicinal plants’;
- The top levels of the classification for ornamentals and forestry crops were defined and it was agreed that further work needs to be done on the qualifiers which characterize the use of plant protection products on these crops;
- Useful Codes for amenity grassland, fallow and the ‘inter-crop’ situation were discussed and new Codes were agreed;
- A classification for the Codes to characterize the crop destinations was agreed.
Considering the users’ request for a more rapid response from the EPPO Secretariat, the ad hoc Panel discussed a possible fast track procedure for the creation of EPPO non-taxonomic Codes and their inclusion in the EPPO Global Database. The procedure will be presented to the Working Party for consideration.
The next meeting of the ad hoc Panel on Harmonization of data on PPP will take place in Paris, at the EPPO headquarters, on 2018-03-05/07.
