About the PLH Panel and the Plant Health Unit

The Panel on Plant Health (PLH) provides independent scientific advice on the risk posed by plant pests which can cause harm to plants, plant products or biodiversity in the EU. The Panel reviews and assesses those risks with regard to the safety and security of the food chain.

The Panel carries out risk assessments in order to produce scientific opinions and advice for risk managers. Its risk assessment work is based on reviewing scientific information and data in order to evaluate the risks posed by a given issue. This helps to provide a sound foundation for European policies and legislation and supports risk managers in taking effective and timely decisions.

How we work

The Panel works independently, openly and transparently to deliver timely scientific advice of the highest standards to support the policies and decisions of risk managers.

It carries out its work either in response to requests for scientific advice from risk managers or on its own initiative. Most commonly, the European Commission asks EFSA to provide scientific advice on a particular issue. The Panel always undertakes work on the basis of the Terms of Reference which guide its approach to each question.

The Panel regularly sets up Working Groups involving external scientists with relevant expertise to focus on specific matters and help produce scientific opinions. The Panel itself meets regularly in plenary sessions to discuss work in progress and to adopt finalised scientific opinions. Each opinion results from a collective decision-making process with every Panel member having an equal say.

Plant Health Unit

The Plant Health Unit provides administrative and scientific support to the work of the PLH Panel and may carry out other projects in EFSA’s remit. The unit may also produce scientific outputs on behalf of EFSA, for instance in response to urgent requests for scientific advice.