There is a suspicion of a discovery of the ToBRFV plant virus at a Dutch tomato growing company. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Safety Authority (NVWA) imposes hygienic measures on the company. TuinbouwAlert is in contact with the entrepreneur and advises on the implementation of the measures to help prevent further spread of the virus.
In September, the European Commission announced new emergency measures to prevent and combat the plant virus. Those rules are effective from November 1. In anticipation of this, the NVWA gave ToBRFV a Q status on October 4, and thus an obligation to report. The adjusted hygiene protocol 2.0 will be available shortly, as well as the results of the research focused on cleaning.
No public health hazard
Like other plant viruses, Dutch authorities stress that ToBRFV does not pose any danger to public health. However, the virus can have a negative effect on the production (volume) in tomato cultivation and can lead to a loss of quality. Affected tomato fruits can show yellow and brown spots. These cannot be sold; they do not meet the quality standards.
Relatively new virus
ToBRFV is relatively new, only known for a few years, and has since been found in various countries around the world. There are official reports from Italy, Germany, China, Turkey, England, Jordan, Israel, Mexico and the United States. In addition to tomatoes, bell pepper, pepper and some ornamental plants are host plants of ToBRFV. The common bell pepper varieties in the Netherlands are resistant to ToBRFV.
TuinbouwAlert
This is a joint message from Glastuinbouw Nederland, GroentenFruit Huis, Plantum, LTO Nederland, NFO and CBL. These organizations work together to manage risks and crises in food horticulture and communicate jointly through TuinbouwAlert during incidents and crises. For more information in Dutch about ToBRFV, visit www.TuinbouwAlert.nl