EFSA’s first 2020 extension of the QPS list is the largest of all time

In February 2020, EFSA published its Update of the list of QPS-recommended biological agents, in which the Authority recommended the inclusion of 8 new species to the QPS list, some of them subject to different qualifications of safety or for production use only.

This is a significant milestone as it involves the largest-ever extension of this list. In fact, over the last four years combined (2016-2019, both included), this list only saw 9 entries of new species.

February’s revision of the list is only the first one expected this year, as EFSA normally publishes QPS updates every 6 months.

Sources:

https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2020.5965

https://zenodo.org/record/3648682