Notifications
The use of biological control agents or pollinators must be notified to the Finnish Food Authority.
A notification is sufficient if:
- the species is original to Finland; or
- the species is included in EPPO’s standard PM 6/3
- pollinator species is widespread in Finland.
The notification must be sent to Finnish Food Authority two (2) weeks before the product is marketed, imported or used. The notification is free of charge and is product-specific. Macro-organism species can be notified if the organism has not been fabricated into a product.
The notified products and purposes of use are listed in the table published on Finnish Food Authority’s website as soon as the notifications are accepted.
According to Finnish Food Authority's interpretation, original species have spread to Finland without human assistance. Invasive alien species started to spread to Finland with humans after 1850, so species established in Finland prior to that are, with a few exceptions, original species.
There is no list of pollinators similar to the EPPO standard PM 6/3, so widespread pollinator species in Finland can be equated with original species and must be notified. The distribution must be described in the notification form.
Applications
When a new macro-organism species or product is marketed, used or imported for the first time, an application for the approval of the species or product concerned must be filed with Finnish Food Authority.
An application for approval is needed if the macro-organism:
- is not an original species to Finland
- is not included in the EPPO standard PM 6/3
- pollinator species is not widespread in Finland
The application for approval with required annexes must be submitted to Finnish Food Authority no later than three (3) months before the product is marketed, used or imported for the first time. Finnish Food Authority evaluates the safety of the product in terms of plant health and forwards the decision for information to the environmental authorities in view of potential restrictions that may be required under the act of the management of risks caused by alien species.
A separate application for approval must be filed for each individual product. A species-specific application is allowed if the macro-organism concerned has not been fabricated into a product.
An application for extending the purpose of use of a specific control agent or pollinator product must be filed if:
- the product is not included in the Finnish Food Authority's list;
- the organism is planned to be used on plant species other than those indicated in the list maintained by Finnish Food Authority; or
- the use of the organism is planned to be extended from greenhouses to open fields.
No application for approval needs to be filed for extending the purpose of use to cover additional pest species. The application for approval may be filed for several purposes of use (plant species) and environments of use (open field, greenhouse and plastic tunnel) at the same time. The approval procedure and extension of the purpose of use are subject to a charge. For prices, please see the link here.