Systems Approach Work Plan for the Exportation of Apples from the United
States into Taiwan
( 8/14/09 EXCERPT update; includes updated phytosanitary statement.)
Please direct specific workplan questions to NHC or APHIS/PPQ
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Work Plan Sections:Preface |
Preface:
The requirements set forth in this document, “Systems Approach Work Plan for the Exportation of Apples from the United States to Taiwan”, will be used as the basis for establishing export requirements and the necessary quarantine actions to be taken for the importation of apples from the United States into Taiwan. Apples must be produced, packed and inspected in accordance with the guidelines specified in this work plan. In implementing this work plan, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will be acting as the designated representative of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) will be acting as the designated representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO). The measures in this work plan provide an equivalent level of protection as those specified in the Quarantine Requirements for the Importation of Apples from Countries or Districts Where the Codling Moth is Known to Occur. Should an issue not specifically addressed by this work plan arise, appropriate representatives from AIT through its designated representative, APHIS, and TECRO through its designated representative, BAPHIQ, will enter into discussions to resolve the issue on a bilateral basis. Addenda to this work plan will be made by mutual agreement between AIT through its designated representative, APHIS, and TECRO through its designated representative, BAPHIQ.
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1. Requirements for Supplying Orchards:
1.1 Apples must come from orchards that follow pest control practices as prescribed by the Federal/State Cooperative Extension Service.
1.2 Management activities for codling moth may include monitoring, phenology (degree-day) models to time treatments, chemical controls, the use of biological controls and mating disruption, or a combination of these or other control methods.
1.3 Growers will maintain records of codling moth management activities and will provide this information on request to APHIS and/or BAPHIQ inspectors during annual visits. Growers will be identified by the grower lot number on the end panel of each carton of apples packed for export to Taiwan.
1.4 Before the fruit from any grower lot is submitted for packing, measures to evaluate the efficacy of orchard control programs will be implemented to eliminate lots with high risk of codling moth infestation.
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2. Requirements for Field Inspections:
2.1 Two months prior to the export of fruits, APHIS will invite the BAPHIQ to send quarantine inspector(s) to perform export inspections in the production areas jointly with APHIS inspectors. The BAPHIQ may choose to dispatch quarantine inspector(s) to the United States to perform the inspections and verifications of the orchard, packinghouses and cold storages. All expenses will be paid by the relevant exporter association.
2.2 Special Requirements
2.2.1 Inspection of Supplying Orchards: The BAPHIQ may visit any qualifying export production site to conduct an inspection, to audit the system used to ensure that export fruit is free of codling moth.
3. Requirements of Packing Houses:
3.1 Packing houses must be registered with the authorities of the United States.
3.2 Apples packed in the packinghouse for export to Taiwan must come from orchards meeting the conditions as described in Section 1. The integrity of shipments packed for export to Taiwan must be maintained.
3.3 Packing houses must be equipped with a sorting apparatus.
3.4 Sufficient lighting will be provided in work areas for visual examinations.
3.5 Each packinghouse must have access to a qualified pest management consultant.
3.6 Packing houses must provide adequate equipment for the performance of inspections and other relatd work.
3.7 Appropriate control measures should be taken to eliminate any live quarantine pests inside the packinghouse at the beginning of the packing season. If it is deemed necessary, sanitation might be taken in order to keep the packinghouse clean.
3.8 Apples must be sorted before packing to remove all deformed and damaged fruits. Packing facilities will review codling moth damage symptoms with sorting and packing crews and provide visual aids for reference. Packinghouse employees will be encouraged to report suspect lots. Culled fruits should be placed in containers and removed from the packing area at the end of the day.
3.9 Apples must be appropriately safeguarded against quarantine pests when transporting packaged fruit from the packinghouses to the export carriers or containers.
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4. Pre-screening Procedures:
4.1 Each packinghouse facility will have a minimum of two technicians trained by APHIS or its cooperator that will be responsible for carrying out the requirements of the pre-screening procedures.
4.1.1 Cooperators are defined as: Authorized Certification Officials from the Washington State Department of Agriculture, Oregon State Department of Agriculture, California State or County Department of Food and Agriculture, or the Idaho State Department of Agriculture.
4.2 A packinghouse pre-screening procedure, consisting of a random 600 fruit sample per lot per day by variety, will be taken from the cull bins. From that sample, all suspect fruits will be cut and inspected. A minimum of 60 fruits from the sample will be cut.
4.3 Should a live codling moth be detected during the packinghouse pre-screening, all fruit from that grower lot will be ineligible for export to Taiwan for the remainder of the current season.
4.4 Should 1 percent or more of fruit (6 in 600) with wormholes be detected during the packinghouse prescreening, that variety from that grower lot run will be ineligible for export to Taiwan for the remainder of the current shipping season.
4.5 Packinghouse officials will provide prescreening records by grower lot and variety by day to APHIS or designated regulatory officials who will verify that the cartons presented for inspection are eligible for export to Taiwan.
4.6 The prescreening records will indicate the degree of codling moth damage found during the packinghouse screening process.
4.7 It is the responsibility of the packinghouse to ensure that each carton presented can be uniquely identified as to grower lot and variety and the date when the fruit was packed or presized.
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5. Export Inspection Procedures:
5.1 Regulatory officials will inspect an equivalent of 3 percent of the cartons in a shipment. All fruit in each carton or carton equivalent will be inspected. All suspect fruit and 1 percent of the fruit in the carton or carton equivalent will be cut, with a minimum of 2 fruit per carton or carton equivalent to be cut.
5.2 Shipments containing fruit with insect holes/tunnels (defined as feeding injury that extends below the skin of the fruit and well into the flesh) will be rejected and ineligible for phytosanitary certification.
5.3 Shipments containing more than a 0.5 percent of fruit with codling moth stings will be rejected and ineligible for phytosanitary certification.
5.4 Should live codling moth be found during the export inspection of a particular grower lot, the shipment will be rejected and the apples from that grower lot will be excluded from the Taiwan export program for the remainder of the season.
5.4.1 APHIS will conduct an investigation to identify and address any deficiency in the system.
5.5 A rejected lot may NOT be reconditioned or resubmitted for inspection.
5.6 The phytosanitary certificate will contain an additional declaration stating “The fruit has been thoroughly inspected and found free from Cydia pomonella (codling moth), Conotrachelus nenuphar (plum curculio), Erwinia amylovora (fire blight), Frankliniella occidentalis (Western flower thrips), Rhagoletis pomonella (apple maggot) and Anarsia lineatella (peach twig borer).” Should the pest list be changed and the quarantine requirements for U.S. apples be revised by BAPHIQ, the additional declarations shall be amended accordingly.
5.7 The name of the packinghouse and location (city and state) must be stated on the phytosanitary certificate. Packing facilities must maintain a system that allows the fruit to be traced back to the grower lot.
5.8 The name of the packinghouse must either be on each carton of fruit or, a pallet tag affixed to the pallet of fruit. Additionally, the grower lot and the date the fruit was packed and/or pre-sized will be identified on the carton.
5.9 Fruit consignments not exported within two weeks of the last inspection date must be reinspected before shipment and a new phytosanitary certificate will be issued.
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6. Fumigation Treatment
6.1 When grower lots or shipments fail to meet the requirements of the “Systems Approach Work Plan For The Exportation of Apples From The United States Into Taiwan,” as detailed in Sections 4.3, 4.4, 5.2, and 5.3 of the work plan, precautionary fumigation with methyl bromide (as outlined in the fumigation schedule in Section 6.9 below) would allow these lots or shipments to qualify for export to Taiwan. Fumigation is not an option if there is non-compliance with the work plan.
6.2 Fumigation will be performed in fumigation chambers certified by APHIS for conducting PPQ quarantine treatments. Precise requirements as specified in the USDA-APHIS-PPQ treatment manual must be met for fumigation chambers to be certified. Fumigation facilities will be re-certified yearly based on the requirements in the PPQ Treatment Manual.
6.3 APHIS will annually provide BAPHIQ with the list of fumigation facilities that are approved and authorized by APHIS before the apple export season begins, including the name and location of each approved facility.
6.4 During the annual on-site inspections by BAPHIQ at orchards and packinghouses, BAPHIQ will examine the gas-tightness of chambers at chosen fumigation facilities. The testing methods and the standard of gas-tightness will be applied in compliance with U.S. regulations on fumigation.
6.5 For shipments of apples inspected and qualified for export with fumigation treatment, the phytosanitary certificate shall include information on the treatment date, treatment temperature, fumigant concentration, name of fumigation facility, and the treatment duration.
6.6 Export inspection procedures: Regulated officials will inspect the equivalent of 2 percent of the cartons in a fumigation shipment. All fruit in each carton or carton equivalent will be inspected.
6.7 Should live codling moth be found during the export inspection, provision 5.4 shall apply to the fumigated apples. In addition, all fumigation treatments from the involved fumigation facility will be immediately suspended. The fumigation facility will be reinstated after APHIS completes an investigation and any identified deficiencies have been corrected.
6.8 Should live codling moth be found upon import inspection in Taiwan, Section 9 shall apply. In addition, all fumigation treatments from the involved fumigation facility will be immediately suspended. APHIS will complete an investigation and submit the report of the investigation to BAPHIQ for review and approval for reinstatement. BAPHIQ will provide a written response to the investigation report within two weeks (14 consecutive days) indicating reinstatement or identifying specific information or corrective action needed.
6.9 Requirement for Fumigation Treatment
The following fumigation schedule is for bins and adequately ventilated export boxes:
Temperature |
Dosage |
Duration |
6 degrees C to < 12 degrees |
64 g/m3 (4lbs/1000ft3) |
2 hours |
12 degrees C to < 17 degrees |
48 g/m3 (4lbs/1000ft3) |
2 hours |
17 degrees C to < 22 degrees |
40 g/m3 (4lbs/1000ft3) |
2 hours |
22 degrees C and above |
32 g/m3 (4lbs/1000ft3) |
2 hours |
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7. Safegaurding Requirements for Transportation
7.1 Apple consignments transiting through third countries or districts must follow the “Quarantine Requirements for Transshipment of Plants or Plant Products through Countries or Districts Where The Quarantine Pests are Known to Occur.”
7.2 During shipping and upon arrival, the lock of the ship’s compartment or seal of the container shall not be unlocked or broken by anyone other than official plant protection/quarantine or other governmental agency personnel.
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8. Import Inspection:
8.1 Phytosanitary certificates will contain the additional declarations on the certificates in conformity with the aforementioned inspection requirements.
8.2 Procedures, methods and frequency of import inspection are based on the "Plant Protection and Quarantine Act" and other related regulations.
8.3 Consignments, which lack phytosanitary certificates issued by the United States or fail to meet the inspection requirements, will be denied entry.
8.4 Should live codling moth be found upon inspection at port of entry, the consignment will be re-exported or destroyed.
8.5 BAPHIQ will immediately notify APHIS of the detection of codling moth. BAPHIQ will provide all information found on the end panel of the box from which the live codling moth was taken and a copy of the phytosanitary certificate(s) issued for that shipment.
8.6 Phytosanitary certification of fruit from the packing facility from which the shipment originated shall be suspended immediately upon receipt of the information.
8.6.1 Any shipment from that packing house, that is certified for Taiwan prior to the date of suspension and that has a “loaded-on-board date” within 3 days of the suspension date, will remain eligible for export to Taiwan. These shipments from this packinghouse will be subject to a more stringent inspection. Should live codling moth be detected, provisions 8.4 and 8.8 shall be applied.
8.7 A confirmation of the name of the packinghouse, its physical location and the date of suspension will be provided to the BAPHIQ by APHIS within two working days of the original notification.
8.8 Export qualification of the supplying orchard, which produced that particular lot of apples, will be terminated for the rest of the season.
8.9 Upon the detection of a live codling moth from the importing U.S. apples, in addition to the provisions 8.4, 8.6, 8.6.1, 8.7 and 8.8, the following provisions shall be applied.
8.9.1 Within two weeks (fourteen consecutive days) APHIS will conduct an investigation, make any necessary corrections, and report the results of investigation to BAPHIQ for review and approval for reinstatement of the packing facility. BAPHIQ will provide a written response to the investigation report within 2 weeks (fourteen consecutive days) indicating reinstatement or identifying specific information or corrective action needed.
8.9.2 After interception of live codling moth, fruits from the supplying orchard and packinghouse shall be suspended. Fruits from other growers and packinghouses will remain eligible for export to Taiwan but will be subject to stringent inspection. Interception of codling moth on shipments with the date of inspection as described in Section 8.9.3 prior to the completion of investigation and correction for the detection will not be subject to the program suspension provisions of the Section 9, but the provisions of Section 8 shall be applied.
8.9.3 The date of inspection referred in Section 8.9.2 denotes the date shown in the column of “Date inspected” on the phytosanitary certificate.
8.10 Should live codling moth be intercepted after the completion of the investigation and correction for the first time, Sections 8.4 to 8.9 shall be applied.
8.11 The Program Suspension/Re-instatement of the importation of U.S. apples will be in accordance with the provisions of Section 9.
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9. Program Suspension/Re-instatement
9.1 Should live codling moth be detected again after completion of investigation and correction for the second time, BAPHIQ will notify APHIS to suspend the program and further export immediately.
9.2 Fruits certified for Taiwan prior to the date of program suspension as stated in Section 9.1 will remain eligible for export to Taiwan from a non-source packinghouse (those Packinghouses not implicated in a detection resulting in a program suspension) if the shipment has a loaded-on-board date within 14 days of the inspection date. These fruit shipments will be subject to a more stringent inspection. Should a live codling moth be detected, Sections 8.4, 8.5, 8.7 and 8.8 shall be applied.
9.3 Upon receipt of the notification of the suspension, APHIS shall conduct an investigation and make any necessary corrections. APHIS will invite BAPHIQto send inspector(s) to join the investigation. A preliminary investigation report and corrective measures needed should accompany the invitation. All expenses will be paid by the relevant export association. APHIS will report the results of the investigation to BAPHIQ for review. BAPHIQ will provide a written response to the investigation report within 2 weeks (14 consecutive days) indicating reinstatement or identifying specific information or corrective action needed.
9.4 If the results of the investigation indicate a system failure and system improvement is required, APHIS shall provide BAPHIQ with a report identifying improvements to be made.
9.5 The suspension will be lifted after BAPHIQ reviews and approves the APHIS report and receives verification from APHIS that any necessary actions taken to correct non-compliance have been implemented.
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Quick Links:
Export Contact:
Northwest Horticultural Council
105 South 18th Street,
Suite 105
Yakima, WA 98801
Phone: (509) 453-3193
Fax: (509) 457-7615
Email: general@nwhort.org
NHC Website
View Related Webpages
Instructions for Orchard & Bin Sampling
Download Instructions (PDFs)
2013 Apple Export Workshop handout - all inclusive
Orchard & Field Bin Sampling Instructions
Field Bin Sampling & Cull Fruit Pre-screening - En Español
Download Log Sheets (PDFs)
Orchard Sampling Worksheet
Field Bin Sampling Log
Cull Fruit Pre-screening Log
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