Plant health
The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) functions as the official national plant protection organization of Iceland and is responsible for maintaining plant health and ensuring seed quality.
Iceland has implemented the legislation of the European Community on seed but has its own legislation on plant health. The Authority gives its opinion to the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture on plant health and seed legislation.
The Authority’s functons include:
Plants and plant products
- Issue of phytosanitary certificates on export relating to the phytosanitary requirements of the importing country
- Import control of consignments with the objective of preventing the introduction and spread of pests
- Surveillance of growing plants with the objective of reporting the occurrence, outbreak and spread of pests and of controlling those pests
- Certification of producers of wood packaging materials in order for Icelandic exporters to comply with the requirements of the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures nr. 15 (ISPM 15)
Seed potatoes
- Supervision and phytosanitary control of the certified production of seed potatoes
Seeds
- Seed certification. Field inspections, seed sampling, laboratory analysis and issue of certificates for the quality factors of seed
- Import control of seed
- Maintaining a national catalogue of agricultural and vegetable varieties