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Inspections on EU ABS Regulation compliance in the Netherlands
The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) has been monitoring compliance with the EU ABS Regulation (Regulation (EU) 511/2014) in the Netherlands since the Nagoya Protocol Implementation Act came into force in 2016. Users of genetic resources are checked per sector, unless reports of individual cases of non-compliance are received from third parties, for example provider countries.
After physical inspections of the Plant breeding sector, the Public research sector and the Food and feed sector were digitally inspected. During these inspections, the NVWA examined whether organisations or companies use material that is in scope of the EU ABS Regulation and how operations within these organisations or companies are structured to meet the obligations arising from the EU ABS Regulation. The results of these digital inspections were published on the NVWA website (in Dutch).
No cases of non-compliance were found to date. However, it should be noted that the use of specific genetic resources was not yet examined in detail. No reports of non-compliance with the Regulation were received from third parties either.
In 2021, the Cosmetics sector and Animal breeding sector will be contacted for digital inspections. In the following years, the Pharmaceutical sector and other biotechnology companies will follow. Using the insights obtained from all the sectors, an approach will be developed for the continuation of monitoring.
For questions about the monitoring of the EU ABS Regulation in the Netherlands, please contact Linda Wassink-de Ligt (L.wassink@nvwa.nl).