Director: Philippe Reignault
Deputy Director: Géraldine Anthoine
Address of the laboratory’s management: 7, rue Jean Dixméras 49044 Angers Cedex 01
E-mail: lsv@anses.fr
Six geographical sites: Angers, Clermont-Ferrand, Montpellier, Nancy, Rennes, Saint-Pierre (Reunion Island)
Number of employees: 100, spread across eight units
The Plant Health Laboratory (LSV) is in charge of the identification of biological risks to plant health, the detection of genetically modified organisms, the determination of beneficial insects (which help protect plants) and insect vectors of disease, and the quarantine of plants introduced under import regulation waivers. Its missions cover cultivated land, forests, and natural environments.
The LSV is the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for all plant pests. Three of its units are also European Union Reference Laboratories (EURLs), for fungi and oomycetes, insects and mites, and nematodes. Moreover, it quarantines plants introduced under import regulation waivers and coordinates assessments of biological risks to plant health. The LSV jointly leads the French plant health network (RFSV) and participates in numerous collaborative research and development projects. It is also actively involved in the work of the National epidemiological surveillance platform for plant health (ESV platform). The laboratory makes its data available to the platform as needed and provides it with scientific support in analytical fields.
The laboratory is regularly asked to carry out work and expert appraisals at national (formal requests and requests for support from the Directorate General for Food) and international (European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization, European Food Safety Authority, International Plant Protection Convention, etc.) levels.
The laboratory is spread out across six geographical sites:
Media monitoring as an additional means of identifying plant pests
In its work to monitor and detect new plant pests, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) regularly analyses the scientific literature, as well as the professional and general media. This monitoring is complementary to other existing surveillance systems. In particular, it enables the detection of very localised damage caused by organisms that are not subject to mandatory reporting