Main message:
The small spruce bark beetle, Ips amitinus, is a close relative of Ips typographus. Since 2002 it has been recorded several times in imported timber, and in one case it was found overwintering at a storage site. Still, the probability that Ips amitinus is established in Norway today is considered low.
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority has asked VKM to assess the following aspects in particular:
- The probability that the pest is established in Norway today
- The potential for natural spread from areas in Europe where the pest is established
- The probability of entry and establishment of the pest via import of different sorts of plants and wood products from countries where the pest exists
- Potential consequences of an establishment
To answer the request, VKM commissioned a draft PRA report from the Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute, and this report was used as a basis for their opinion.
The VKM Panel on Plant Health has been responsible for the risk assessment.
Contact
Vitenskapskomiteen for mat og miljø
The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment
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The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment
