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CONSULTATION ON DRAFT CONTAINMENT STANDARDS FOR FACILITIES HANDLING PLANT PESTS

Ottawa, April 28, 2006 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has launched an internet-based public consultation on a draft set of Containment Standards for Facilities Handling Plant Pests. The draft Standards are available for public comment on the CFIA web site at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/sci/bio/plaveg/placone.shtml until October 1, 2006.

The draft Standards describe the minimum acceptable physical and operational requirements for facilities working with plant pests other than weeds. They do not apply to soil, genetically modified plants, and biological control insects, as these are, or will be, covered by other documents.

The CFIA, under the authority of the Plant Protection Act, strives to protect plant life and the agricultural and forestry sectors of the Canadian economy by preventing the importation, exportation and spread of pests, and by controlling or eradicating pests in Canada. The Plant Protection Act and Regulations give the CFIA the authority to prohibit or restrict the movement into, within, and out of Canada of any plant pest or other thing that is or could be infested with a pest, or is or could be a biological obstacle to the control of a plant pest.

Part of this effort includes the need to contain and control plant pests that are being used for purposes such as research. Federal guidelines or standards already exist for laboratories handling human pathogens (the Laboratory Biosafety Guidelines, administered by Health Canada), and facilities handling animal pathogens (the Containment Standards for Veterinary Facilities, administered by the CFIA). However, until now, there have been no federal standards to deal with the containment of plant pests. The development of the Containment Standards for Facilities Handling Plant Pests addresses this gap.

The Standards were drafted by a 17-member working group of multidisciplinary experts from the CFIA, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, McGill University and private industry. 

Operators of facilities handling plant pests should note that implementation of the Standards may require physical or operational changes at your facility, and thus they may have a financial impact on your operation. It is also important to note that while the Standards are primarily intended to address facilities importing plant pests, they can also be applied to facilities that collect or isolate plant pests of significance to Canada.

Comments on the draft Standards may be submitted electronically at the web address above. We would ask that anyone who submits comments on the wording of the draft Standards, please provide a suggested alternate wording where possible.

Once the comment period is completed, any comments received will be reviewed and any necessary revisions will be made. The Standards will then be finalized, with a transition period to follow until December 31, 2008. The final version of the Standards will come into effect on January 1, 2009, and will be mandatory for facilities handling plant pests.

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For more information, please contact:

Lisa Young
Biohazard Containment and Safety Unit
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Ottawa, ON
Telephone: (613) 221-7072