A European Commission working group review of EU food safety regulation has decided not to consider the inclusion of additional controls on beans and peas from Kenya, or herbs from Vietnam.

The group was assessing annex I of EU regulation 669/2009. It said in a statement: ‘We concluded that at this stage there is not sufficient ground to list this item. However, it should be followed up.”

This move will be welcomed by importers of these lines, however there is new proposal to consider increasing the frequency of checks for fresh curry leaves from India, from the existing 10 per cent control rate to a potential 50 per cent, based on member states’ reports of non-compliance rates and a recent Food & Veterinary Office mission.