Wood samples can now be fully processed on site

The regulation on deforestation-free supply chains (EU Regulation 2023/1115, known as EUDR) came into force on June 29, 2023 and replaces the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) with a delay of 18 months to comply with the new regulation. The production of goods made from wood and other specific raw materials (coffee, cocoa, palm oil, soy, beef and natural rubber) that are placed on the EU market or exported from the EU must not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation. The regulation stipulates, that market participants must provide information on the type, country of origin as well as geolocation data.

The Institute of Forest Genetics in Großhansdorf will support the implementation of the EUDR for wood products, as was previously the case for the EUTR. It is expected that this new regulation will result in a higher demand for species and origin testing of wood and wood products. The recent acquisition of a new capillary sequencer now enables the complete processing of submitted wood samples directly at the institute. The "ABI SeqStudio" is used for various genotyping methods and also offers excellent quality for Sanger sequencing of wood samples. It offers high flexibility, shorter processing times and better identification of potential sources of contamination.