Tomatoes coming into Canada from countries known to have pest problems with tomato leafminer will now need more certification on the way here.
Starting Wednesday (Feb. 24), any tomato shipment from an affected country will need to carry a phytosanitary certificate declaring the tomatoes originated from a place where tomato leafminer doesn’t occur and were inspected and found free of the moth.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said last week that these temporary requirements will remain in place until “more permanent measures” are developed.
CFIA’s decision follows new import requirements in the U.S., under which tomatoes imported to Canada from countries infested with tomato leafminer will not be allowed into the U.S. without first meeting “additional import requirements.”
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Starting Feb. 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires added certification for tomatoes coming from Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Uruguay or Venezuela.
The USDA wants a phytosanitary certificate and either a declaration that the tomatoes are grown in an area free from tomato leafminer or a declaration that the tomatoes were grown in accordance with a U.S. systems approach and have been inspected and are free of the pest.
“Re-export”
USDA also won’t allow tomatoes into the U.S. if they have been imported into Canada from the above-mentioned countries, and if they don’t meet the added U.S. import requirements.
The new U.S. import requirements also prohibit the entry of host plants of tomato leafminer for planting from affected countries, until a pest risk analysis is done and “appropriate mitigation measures” are put in place.
Tomato leafminer is a small moth that mainly attacks tomato crops but has also been reported on potato, aubergine and common beans, CFIA said last week.
While the moth can “severely” damage tomato crops in many countries, it can’t survive Canadian winters. It can, however, pose a risk for hothouse tomato crops and for export trade with the U.S.
Tomatoes imported from countries where tomato leafminer is known to occur should not be brought anywhere near production greenhouses, CFIA said.
CFIA said it will keep working with industry to meet the new U.S. import requirements, so Canada’s importers “can continue to re-export tomatoes to the U.S.”
