Introduction to the EPPO Alert List
The pests on the Alert List are selected by the EPPO Secretariat, mainly from the literature but also from suggestions of NPPOs of member countries. Their addition to the list is marked by an article in the EPPO Reporting Service. All pests on the Alert List are selected because they may present a phytosanitary risk for the EPPO region. The reasons for considering inclusion on the Alert List can be of various nature: pests which are new to science, new outbreaks, reports of spread, etc. The Alert List is reviewed critically every year by the Panel on Phytosanitary Measures.
It is not a quarantine list, and does not constitute a recommendation for phytosanitary action. The section 'possible risk' is not the result of a full PRA according to EPPO Standard PM 5/3(1) but is a preliminary attempt by the EPPO Secretariat to identify the main elements of risk. Some of the pests may later be selected by relevant EPPO Panels and submitted to a full PRA. As a result, they may be added to the EPPO Action List (list of pests recommended for regulations) or, if the PRA shows the risk to be low, removed from the Alert List.