EBIC attends recent Notified Bodies meeting on plant biostimulants
January 2026
On 15 January, the Coordination Group of Notified Bodies (NoBos) under the EU Fertilising Products Regulation (FPR) held a dedicated meeting focused on plant biostimulants (PFC 6). The meeting followed up on several PFC 6–specific issues that remained open after the group’s general meeting in October. Currently, 11 Notified Bodies are accredited to carry out PFC 6 conformity assessments, as listed on the NANDO database, with one additional Notified Body recently accredited in Italy.
EBIC attended the meeting as an observer and was represented by Céline Durieu, in her role as MTS SG co-chair, and Sara García Figuera from the EBIC Secretariat. The agenda and EBIC’s internal notes from the meeting are available to members on the EBIC intranet.
Most agenda items were approached as initial exchanges, following practical questions raised by individual Notified Bodies based on their assessment experience. During the meeting:
- Notified Bodies shared their respective interpretations and approaches
- EBIC was invited to intervene and provide industry perspectives
- The European Commission offered legal clarification where necessary
In several cases, it was agreed that additional input would be collected and that discussions would continue with the aim of reaching alignment across Notified Bodies. In addition, Notified Bodies held a preliminary exchange on the proposal to introduce criteria and a methodology for the assessment of microorganisms under CMC 7, marking an early step in further technical alignment in this area.
Ahead of the meeting, EBIC prepared structured talking points based on consultation with relevant internal expert groups, including EN Conformity Assessment and PT Boundaries.
As a follow-up, EBIC will consult its technical platforms on several topics discussed during the meeting, including:
- The potential grouping of quality traits across different crops
- How application timings should be indicated for multi-crop products
- How to deal with innovative application methods, such as drones
- What label information would clearly be considered misleading
One area of broad agreement during the meeting concerned the information manufacturers are expected to submit when a component of a plant biostimulant is changed, providing helpful clarity for future conformity assessments.
The next PFC 6 subgroup meeting is expected to take place before the summer.
For further details on this meeting or EBIC’s engagement with the Coordination Group of Notified Bodies, members are invited to contact Sara García Figuera at the EBIC Secretariat.