Plants & plant products

Definition

The term plants designates living plants and living parts of plants including seeds and reproductive material.

For example: fruits, vegetables, tubers, bulbs, rhizomes, cut flowers, branches with leaves, leaves, live pollen, seeds, plants for planting.

The term plant products designates non-processed or simply processed products of plant origin.

For example: wood pallets and other wood packing materials are considered as plant products.

Cut or frozen fruits and vegetables are on the other hand not included in this definition: they are products of plant origin but have been substantially processed. They are considered as foodstuffs.

Obligations and controls

Plants and plant products can carry pests that could be harmful to other plants and plant products.

As part of international circulation of this type if goods, phytosanitary controls and verification of accompanying certificates are used to ensure that these goods are free from harmful pests. The goal is both to prevent the entry and distribution of such organisms in the territory of the European Union (EU) and to ensure the quality of European products.

According to European legislation, imports of plants and plant products must be registered in the TRACES.NT system.

Organic plants and plant products are subject to additional specific documentary control in addition to phytosanitary control.

Some fresh fruits and vegetables (non-frozen) may carry harmful pests. They are thus subject to phytosanitary controls. They are also considered as food products and thus are subject to food safety controls.

Cut or frozen fruits and vegetables are not subject to phytosanitary controls but only to food safety controls.

Related documents

Various documents accompany plants and plant products:

Related procedures

The following procedures, described on the Guichet.lu website, are used to request certificates from the Administration of Agricultural Technical Services (ASTA):

The ASTA is responsible for the following controls related to these products:

Related organizations

The Administration of Agricultural Technical Services (ASTA) is in charge of phytosanitary inspections and certificates as well as non-GMO certificates.

The ASTA is also responsible for specific inspections and certificates for seed potatoes.

Last update