News

 

February 17, 2026 –  Joint Release

The World Potato Congress Inc. is pleased to be hosting, as part of our ongoing webinar series, a panel discussion with the UNECE Specialized Section on Standardization of Seed Potatoes

 

Topic:    From Standard to Practice: UNECE Seed Potato Standard (S-1)

Date:     Monday, March 16 from 15:00-16:00 CET /10:00-11:00am EDT.

 

 

Background

Reliable access to high-quality seed potatoes is essential for the productivity, profitability, and resilience of the potato sector. To support this, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Standard for Seed Potatoes (S-1) provides a globally recognized framework for certification and commercial quality control of seed potatoes. Its objective is to facilitate fair trade, enhance transparency, and promote harmonization among national and regional certification schemes.

The UNECE Standard for Seed Potatoes provides a common language and minimum quality requirements used by government authorities, seed growers, exporters, and buyers worldwide. Originally developed in 1968, the Standard has evolved to reflect advances in science, production systems, and international trade. Following an extensive review process launched in 2022, a fully revised version was adopted in late 2025 after broad technical consultation.

The updated Standard further clarifies certification processes, inspection approaches, disease and pest management provisions, and traceability and labelling requirements across the supply chain.

This moderated panel discussion will present the key elements of the revised UNECE Seed Potato Standard and explain its practical implications for certification authorities, producers, and traders. It will:

• Highlight the rationale behind the revision
• Outline the main updates to seed potato requirements and certification systems
• Showcase implementation experiences from different countries

Through expert presentations and interactive discussion, the session aims to increase awareness and use of the Standard and support its consistent application in the certification of seed potatoes for international trade.

 

Meet the Panelists:

Dr. Hanna Kortemaa is the Director of the Plant Production Department at the Finnish Food Authority in Finland, where she oversees seed certification and plant health.

She studied agriculture at the University of Helsinki, specializing in plant pathology and plant protection. Following her graduation, she worked for five years in teaching and research at the University of Helsinki’s Department of Plant Pathology before joining the Finnish Food Authority in 1995.

Hanna has held several senior roles, including Head of the Seed Health and Seed Potato Laboratory and Head of the Seed Certification Unit and has 30 years of experience in seed potato certification.

She has been a long standing member of the UNECE Specialized Section on Standardization of Seed Potatoes and has served as its Chair since 2019. Hanna led the working group responsible for the comprehensive revision of the UNECE Seed Potato Standard, formally adopted in 2025.

 

Dr. Nigel Crump is General Manager and Principal Plant Pathologist of the Australian Seed Potato Industry Certification Authority (AuSPICA), leading Australia’s largest integrated seed potato certification system.

As a plant pathologist, he works closely with growers and industry to support seed health, biosecurity assurance, and certification integrity across the Australian potato sector.  He has extensive experience in plant pathology and seed certification systems.

Nigel serves on the Executive as Secretary/Director of the World Potato Congress and Vice-Chair of the UNECE Specialized Section on Seed Potatoes.

 

Dr. ir. Laura van Bezouwen is a Dutch policy officer for NAK in seed potatoes.

She has studied Plant Sciences and holds a master’s degree in Plant Biotechnology at Wageningen University. After finishing a PhD in Electron microscopy on Photosystem II, she has worked several years as a postdoctoral researcher.

For the last five years Laura has worked at NAK, focusing on seed potato certification policy. As a policy officer, she works with interpreting European and national rules and regulations to the practical aspects of NAK certification.

She also incorporates new developments and innovations in the sector into the national rules and regulations as part of continued improvement of the quality of the Dutch certified seed potatoes.

 

Mr. André Wessels is the Technical Manager at the Potato Certification Service (PCS), where he is responsible for overseeing national certification operations in 13 production areas, implementing and monitoring technical standards, and managing risks within the South African Seed Potato Certification Scheme.

He has over 15 years of experience in seed potato certification. His work focuses on operational efficiency, compliance with regulatory and scheme requirements, and the development of practical, science-based interventions to address industry risks, including plant health and varietal integrity.

He is also involved in training and evaluation of certification officials to ensure the availability of high-quality certification services.

 

Dr. Triona Davey is the Head of the Potatoes, Virology & Zoology team at SASA, a Division of the Scottish Government. She leads Scotland’s work supporting potato health and the Scottish Seed Potato Classification Scheme (SPCS).

Triona specializes in potato virology, seed potato certification and phytosanitary requirements, supporting the technical standards that underpin certification and export assurance.

She is Vice-Chair of the UNECE Specialized Section on Standardization of Seed Potatoes.