Harvest of tomatoes (illustration). – Gutner / SIPA
After suspicion, the confirmation. The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed Monday evening the contamination of tomatoes in a greenhouse in Finistère by the ToBRFV virus, harmless to humans but extremely virulent and posing an economic risk to the industry.
“We received the results of ANSES (Health Security Agency) on the samples taken from the greenhouses that were in suspicion in Finistère and the results are positive, they are therefore well contaminated with the virus”, he said. one indicated to the ministry. “The operation concerned was confined pending the destruction of plants and disinfection of the site as soon as possible.”
According to the Health Security Agency (ANSES), the tomato virus can infect up to 100% of plants on a production site, which makes it formidable for crops with high planting density such as greenhouse crops. However, it has no impact on humans.
The offending plants “come from the United Kingdom but come from seeds produced in the Netherlands”, according to the ministry. Three other holdings “have been identified as having received the same type of seedlings” and are the subject of inspections and samples, as part of the traceability investigation.
Quarantine
The contaminated operation, in which two greenhouses were hit, “is quite isolated”. “Everything has been done to circumscribe the site,” Laurent Bergé, president of the AOP Tomatoes and Cucumbers of France, told AFP. “We are working on all the biosecurity measures,” he added, referring to the development with the state services of a monitoring plan, to allow “a permanent watch of a possible evolution of the virus “.
According to Laurent Bergé, other viruses have been contained in the past, thanks to “fairly high” security measures. “Unlike other countries like the Netherlands, our operations are much more dispersed across the country so the risk of contamination from one farm to the next is more limited,” he added.
However, “if we can not contain the contamination, the risk is that the tomato sector can decline rapidly, it is a particularly virulent virus,” he added, referring to vectors. such as packaging or pallets.
The amateur gardeners concerned
In early February, ANSES warned against “tomato brown rugose fruit virus” (ToBRFV), a new virus “particularly dangerous for plants that are sensitive to it”. It can be transmitted through infected seeds, plants and fruit and survives in the open air for a long time.
The contaminated fruit loses all its taste qualities, due to a break in its ripening, altering the quality of its flesh and making it unfit for sale. On a sick plant, one can observe mosaics and mottling on the leaves, spots and necrosis on the flowers and discoloration with yellow or brown spots on the fruits which can also be deformed.
Observed for the first time in Israel in 2014, this virus was found in 2018 in Mexico, the United States, Germany and Italy, then in 2019 in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Greece. Its distribution in France “would have major economic consequences for the sector but also amateur gardeners,” warned the ministry on Sunday.
No treatment currently exists: “once the virus is on the crop, we have no choice but to destroy this crop,” recalled Laurent Bergé, according to whom more than 1,500 producers make grow the first fruit consumed by the French with just over 13.9 kg per household per year. In all, 712,000 tonnes of tomatoes were produced in 2018 in France, according to the ministry.
Documents will be communicated to all French producers, with the prophylaxis measures to be implemented. A communication plan for professionals and the public must inform of the absence of risk for consumption.
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