Plant Health
Safe Haven Certification Scheme Homepage
The Safe Haven Certification Scheme was set up by the British seed industry in 2004 to provide additional protection for the British potato industry and it’s customers from bacterial ring rot.
The scheme comprises of scientifically robust protocols that requires seed growers and businesses who are members of the scheme to be audited annually to ensure compliance. These protocols provide additional protection against other harmful organisms like brown rot and Dickeya-Blackleg. It also helps protect against any pest or disease not found in Britain for which seed potatoes can be a vector.
Safe Haven Certification Scheme - Information and advice
Directory Membership list of currently accredited safe haven seed growers
Safe Haven Brochure (247Kb) featuring the safe haven standards.
Additional benefits Benefits of the safe haven scheme against other pests and diseases. (Link to page Safehaven Page 3.doc)
Bacterial ring rot of potato - the facts .Summarised guide to the disease, 7 pages. If you would like a copy of the full 47 page report of which the above is a summary, please contact Potato Council Publications.
Further information from Fera and Scottish Government
Pictures A selection of photographs of tubers showing ring rot symptoms
Ring Rot is a bacterial infection listed as notifiable under the EU Council Directive 2000/29/EC. The organism presents no risk to human health but does however present a significant plant health risk.
What you can do...
Great Britain is free from ring rot, and will remain this way - provided we work together to ensure we don't import it. Individual decisions, especially about seed sourcing, matter.
Potato Council work on this subject is led by the Head of Seed Export:
Mark Prentice, tel: +44 (0)131 472 4149
The Safe Haven Certification Scheme is designed to reduce the risk of outbreaks of Ring Rot, and other bacterial diseases of potatoes such as Brown Rot and Dickeya - Blackleg through a series of standards covering all the potential infection points.
Safe Haven interviews - filmed at British Potato 2009
Speaker - Mark Prentice, Potato Council.
What the Safe Haven scheme is, why it is important and how it can help against Dickeya-Blackleg.
Speaker - Graham Nichols, Seed Potato grower and Safe Haven member. Why the scheme is important to both seed and ware growers, the benefits it provides, what would happen to a seed business if a Ring Rot outbreak was discovered.
Speaker - John Elphinstone, Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA). A scientific view on the Safe Haven scheme and its importance.
Speaker - Nigel Allam, Agrimarc, Ware/Seed supplier.
Why Safe Haven is an important consideration when sourcing seed and the impact Ring Rot and other diseases would have on sector.
Additional Benefits - Benefits of the Safe Haven scheme against other pests and diseases
There are many benefits offered by the safe haven scheme against pests and diseases other than ring rot. The safe haven can help protect against any pest or disease that can be imported or introduced by seed. This includes other bacterial diseases like brown rot or Dickeya spp. and soil borne pests like root knot nematode. Further information is listed below: