23/04/2019 (Agence Europe) – According to a report by the EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) published on 16 April, Italy has put in place a “comprehensive” system of import controls to ensure plant health. Checks are carried out on all regulated plants and on high-risk wood packaging material, say EU experts. They point out that a number of “recent developments have strengthened the system”, but that “this is undermined to some extent, by the lack of adequate inspection facilities at one important point of entry and by a concession that excludes non-commercial imports from the scope of plant health checks”. The report contains recommendations to help Italy remedy the shortcomings identified. (LC)